


Mr. Stan

by chimaeracabra



Category: Margarita Levieva - Fandom, Sebastian Stan - Fandom
Genre: Crime, Drama, F/M, Face Slapping, Fluff, Gangsters, Guns, Implied/Referenced Suicide, In Media Res, Jail, Murder, Mystery, Phone Sex, References to Drugs, Romance, Rough Sex, Sebastian Stan - Freeform, Suspense, crackfic, crimes of passion, dad!Sebastian Stan, mobster
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-21
Updated: 2017-04-16
Packaged: 2018-10-08 18:49:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 16
Words: 42,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10393800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chimaeracabra/pseuds/chimaeracabra
Summary: Sebastian's wife becomes suspicious when his ex turns up dead shortly after their wedding. She discovers a dark side to Sebastian that she'd never known.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This came from a crazy little dream I had last night, involving Sebastian being some kind of Romanian mafia boss, throwing me a birthday party, dark blue glitter, his crazy ex telling me not to marry him, him killing her then telling someone on the phone that he'd kill me if I ever tried to leave him, me being his baby mama…I don't know why my brain is more creative during REM than I am when I'm awake. I just wrote this crazy ass story, with which I'm not even finished. Forgive any mistakes. It was like hypergraphia on a keyboard…

            "Just _tell_ me you aren't responsible for _any_ of this." The words tumble out of Donya's mouth the second she watches her husband walk towards her. He's only smiling when he sees her, but all she can focus on is the bright orange and chains he's clad in. She takes a step back away from him as the guard unlocks his handcuffs. Sebastian only stands there waiting to be released, wanting nothing more than to embrace her.

            "You look so beautiful," he says, talking to Donya as if _nothing_ horrible has happened, as if she's not meeting him inside a prison, as if there aren't these heinous crimes he's charged with that are his reason for being here. When he moves close enough to embrace her, Donya backhands him _hard_. Sebastian's eyes close a moment and he sucks his bottom lip before turning his face back to Donya. She feels like she's looking at a stranger. He reaches for her and she takes a big step back. Sebastian pauses, keeping the grimace on his face which had lit it when she hit him. Deep down, he knows he deserves so much more than just one good slap.

            "Don't…take _another_ fucking step," she breathes, warning him with a finger. The guard does nothing about Donya hitting Sebastian and only starts for the door.

            "Thirty minutes," he states, closing the door. She steps further away, nearly until her back makes contact with the wall.

            "Baby, you're gonna have to start talking to me sooner or later," Sebastian says, with a small smug smile, the kind he always had on his face when he meant to make Donya weak in the knees. She crosses her arms and turns her gaze away from him, staring hard at the floor.

            "How's Sofia—?"

            "Don't even," Donya interrupts, sending Sebastian one glare. She starts pacing back and forth then, keeping a keen eye on him. Sebastian's gaze follows her for a handful of seconds. He can see that she's still trying to wrap her head around this.

            "She's with my mother—"

            "Fuck—in _Boston_? Baby, why wouldn't you just send her to be with my mom closer to home—"

            "I don't trust you and I sure as shit don't think I should trust your _family_ at this point—Sebastian— _look at where you are_!"

            "My family would never hurt our daughter. Don't talk like that. You know they would do _anything_ for me, _anything_ for you, and Sofia—"

            "Oh, really?! Like _lie_ about all the shit you've been doing all this time? Like _lie_ about killing your ex-wife?!" Donya's eyes are leaking uncontrollably now. Sebastian swallows hard. He steps towards her again. She shakes her head repeatedly, backing into the corner until there's nowhere left to run. The last thing Sebastian wants to do is hurt her, but as she struggles to get free of his grip, he realizes that this is _all_ he has succeeded in doing.

            "I didn't put my hands on her," he says into her ear, finally grasping Donya so that she can no longer struggle. Her hands are plastered to his chest, the nails digging graves into it. He doesn't blame her for hating him so badly right now.

            "I _swear_ I didn't."

            "But you had it done, didn’t you?" she whimpers, starting afresh trying to fight out of his grasp.

            "I don't even _know_ you—"

            "It's _me_ , Donya. You know _me_ ," Sebastian pleads. For a fleeting moment, Donya is reminded of one of the scenes in Titanic where they arrest Jack and Rose is looking on kind of dumbly. She only wishes that Sebastian had been joking and this was all just some kind of act.

 

THREE MONTHS EARLIER

            "Do you like it, baby?" Sebastian asks, uncovering Donya's eyes. She only turns in amazement, taking in the sight of the largest New York apartment she's ever seen.

            "What the…?" When she does an entire 360 and comes to find Sebastian standing there with his hands in his pockets, she still can't believe her eyes. He's the handsomest item in the room. Donya exhales in disbelief. Before she can say anything, there's a gurgle and cry at their feet. Sebastian smiles fully, stooping to pick up the infant who has finally awoken from her nap.

            "Iubirea mea, Sofia," Sebastian states, pulling her to his chest. At 6 months, she is the perfect doll-esque child, having Sebastian's everything. As he offers the baby a pinky to suck on and laughs, Donya couldn't care less about the million-dollar apartment Sebastian had promised her.

            "Nu plânge," he says softly, placing a long kiss on Sofia's head. When he meets Donya's eyes again, he looks concerned.

            "What's wrong?" he asks. Only then does she realize the tears spilling down her face.

            "Nothing," Donya replies softly, hastily dabbing her eyes with the backs of her hands.

            "Everything is just…perfect," she promises.

Sebastian had been promising her an apartment somewhere close to his because there were times when he just had to get so into his roles that Donya couldn't stand to be around him. She would occasionally even go home to her mom's in Boston for a couple of days just to give him space. After Sofia was born, Sebastian didn't like the idea of his girlfriend travelling in a car long distances with the newborn. Even _while_ Donya was pregnant, it bothered him to think of her driving back and forth. So he finally got her to agree to having a separate apartment where she could go when he was busy with acting.

            "But, Seb. The price—"

            "Is nothing but a number," he interrupts, stepping closer with their daughter in hand. He kisses the top of Donya's head.

            "I'll pay _anything_ for you. I just want you both to be comfortable when you can't stand me," Sebastian admits, unable to keep from smiling to the point of aching cheek. Donya laughs. Sofia cooing between them happily and grabbing at Sebastian's chest is so distracting that neither of them hear the realtor going on about the rooms they haven't even seen yet. Sebastian waves a hand carelessly in the realtor's direction.

            "I'll take it," he calls, transferring Sofia into Donya's arms to go and try to haggle for a lower price. Donya pulls a fresh bottle out of her carry pack, throwing the bag on the couch, and carrying Sofia over to the glass walls in front of them, eying the summer rain. Suddenly, Donya can't fathom being away from Sebastian for even a day, even when he's the most annoying in his characters. She realizes, gazing down into Sofia's eyes, that so long as Sofia is with her, it's as if Sebastian is always by her side.

            In two day's time, Donya finds herself enjoying the best twenty-ninth birthday any woman could ever ask for. Sebastian had spent his own showing her this apartment for the occasion, and she just can't stop thanking him enough, kissing his cheek multiple times every time he crosses her path in her new crowed apartment. Dark blue glitter litters the floors with confetti as it falls from the ceiling and Donya pops a fresh bottle of champagne. Half of the people here really know her, the rest are Sebastian's friends, and family members of his she has only met in passing before. Many of them are cousins and one is apparently an uncle, who she thinks of as Sebastian twenty years from now, and every time he winks at her from across the room, Donya looks away nervously. The man, named Ştefan, has a thick Romanian accent and a habit of chewing on toothpicks. If Donya didn't know any better, she would have said he reminded her of some kind of kind of Mafia crime lord, and he seemed like a smooth bastard, the way he would lean against the counter and eye the pretty girl who was tending the bar.

            Donya gasps genuinely as a pair of hands grip her hips. She's greeted by Sebastian's voice in her ear.

            "Just me, baby," he says, kissing her strapless shoulder for a long moment. She relaxes.

            "You tryna fuck my uncle?" Sebastian asks. Donya's eyes widen. She turns around to catch a sideways smile on Sebastian's face.

            "What?"

            "You've been staring at him since he got here," Sebastian adds, crossing his arms feigning jealousy. Donya blushes, wishing somebody would turn the music up higher, not wanting any of her friends to hear Sebastian talking shit the day before their wedding. _Yes_ , the day before. He'd said to hell with tradition. He was going to party with her tonight until she kicked him out. Initially, it had been Sebastian's idea for them to marry _on_ her birthday, but Donya had refused. She thought it would be more fun to have separate parties for the two events, yet still, Sebastian refused to stay away the whole night and miss her getting to celebrate the start of her last year as a twenty-something-year-old.

            "It's just that…Seb, are you _sure_ that's not your father? He looks _just_ like you—"

            "Happens with the guys in my family," Sebastian shrugs, grabbing Donya by the wrist. He starts pulling her past people, towards the hall which she knows leads to the bedroom.

            "Seb!" Donya complains, trying to pull out of his grip, "The party is _this_ way, honey," she says, but Sebastian only turns around and grips her by the waist.

            "I have a _surprise_ for you," he says. Donya pauses and eyes Sebastian reluctantly, staring back a few feet as she misses out on a conversation with her two best friends who drove all the way from Boston just for this birthday and the wedding the following day.

            "You'll have _plenty_ of time for them," Sebastian promises, tugging Donya along. She stops fighting him and follows.

            "What's in the bedroom?" Donya asks. Sebastian casts her a sideways glance, one that's got a hint of mischief in it. Donya pulls away from him a few feet closer to the bedroom.

            "What's behind the door, Seb? Is it Sofia?"

            "No," he says, "She's with my mom. You know that."

            "Sebastian—"

            "Stop talking and just get your little ass in," Sebastian states, edging on anger just a bit. Donya only laughs as he slams a wide palm over her rear in her blue Versace dress.

            "Okay, what—?" But almost as soon as Donya speaks, she feels Sebastian collide bodily with her. She can make out the softness of the bedspread beneath her, and already she feels Sebastian pulling her underwear down hungrily.

            "Oh my god— _fuck you_ ," Donya states, fighting a laugh.

            "Yes, that's exactly what's gonna happen, baby," he says, biting into her neck gently and leaving spit there as he starts unzipping her dress.

            "Sebastian," Donya breathes, irritated for real now. She begins to make him out better in the dark.

            "This is why I didn't even _want_ you here," she states, grabbing at his shoulders and trying to push him off, "It's bad luck for the groom to see the bride the night before, and you promised me you were just going to come by for an hour, bring some friends, and _leave_ —"

            "You were thinking about fucking my uncle, weren't you?" Sebastian asks, pausing only to make eye contact with Donya in the dimness. She stares up at him in disbelief.

            "And don't lie to me," he says. His voice is serious now, and Donya can't believe what she's hearing.

            "Sebastian, are you _fucking_ kidding me?" she asks, smiling ever so slightly.

            "I'm _not_ , actually," Sebastian states, and he unhooks his belt, pulling his jeans down. Donya starts to sit up, but he makes his way on top of her quickly, pulling her short dress up far enough to give him access to what he's looking for. He pushes himself inside of her so hastily that Donya gasps genuinely. She groans.

            "You kept looking at him like you wanted to fuck him," Sebastian states, inches from her face. Donya keeps her eyes pinched shut, trying to at least turn herself on enough that this isn't so awkwardly painful.

            "Fuck—Seb—I was just saying you look like him—"

He cuts her off with a hard kiss. For a moment, Donya is sure her lip is bleeding.

            "You know this cunt is mine, right?" Sebastian breathes before moaning, starting up a pace. Donya clutches at Sebastian's chest unsurely. She still can't tell if he truly believes she was thinking about fucking another man and found it to be a turn on, or whether he thought she was thinking of fucking another man and it gave him the overwhelming need to "mark his territory" just in case. She remains confused during the interaction, eventually getting wet enough that it's manageable. On the other side of the door, the voices and music fade out and Donya focuses instead on Sebastian grunting and moaning. As she reaches for his handsome face, he pins her hands down. Looking into his eyes, there's something really unfamiliar about him. This unfamiliarity is scary to Donya in some way.

            She had thought minutes ago about telling Sebastian to get the fuck off her, but something somewhere, some instinct, just tells her to lie there and let him finish. She thinks about the way Ştefan was eying her from across the room, chewing that toothpick, and suddenly, she only hopes the man will leave soon with Sebastian and the few family members he'd brought with him. Donya is stirred from her thoughts by Sebastian fucking her hard, _too_ hard. It's as if he's trying to get her to actually scream and stop lying there in her thoughts.

            "Seb," she groans, trying to reach for him, but he pins her hands down again. He looks at her as if to ask why she's trying to stop him. She turns her cheek against the bed, allowing a silent tear to fall out of her left eye, giving in and making noises she only hopes no one will notice on the other side of the door. She feels like she doesn't know Sebastian in this moment. Donya realizes now that there's nothing romantic about this sex. In fact, she doesn't really understand what Sebastian is doing. If his aim was to scare her, he'd done so thoroughly. Her hands are sweaty locked in his fingers. Had it not been for the AC in this luxury apartment, Donya is sure her dress would be soaked in sweat.

            "A mea," Sebastian states. She knows little Romanian, but this she understands as she turns to look up at him again. He has not torn his gaze from her once, and she wonders now why he hasn't stopped; Donya is certain that she looks as uncomfortable as she feels. She opens her mouth, preparing herself to tell Sebastian to stop, but just then, he finishes. She closes her eyes, tilting her chin towards the ceiling and trying not to scream at the deepness with which he plunged for the final moment. After a few seconds of him catching his breath and reducing in size inside her, Donya pushes at Sebastian's shoulders.

            "A mea," he says again. And now she just flat-out crawls from underneath him, cursing.

            "What the _fuck_ was that?" Donya asks, pulling her dress down. Sebastian sits up with widened eyes. Donya crawls towards the head of the bed until she reaches the lamp to turn it on. She turns around in time to see Sebastian fixing his belt. He pushes hair out of his eye and looks innocently at Donya from the foot of the bed.

            "What was what, baby?" he asks in some disbelief before grinning, "I wanted to give you your birthday orgasm before I leave," he explains. Donya covers her face with her hands for a moment. She's sure that Sebastian knows as well as she does that she didn't have an orgasm during that entire fury fuck. It felt far less like a birthday gift and more like some type of tacit argument. Sebastian's hand circling Donya's ankle shocks her and she uncovers her face. Sebastian isn't generally rough like he had just been with her—and right at the start, too. Never. Donya pulls her ankle away from him.

            "You fucking hurt me," she complains angrily, pulling her knees to her chest at the head of the bed. Sebastian looks genuinely remorseful then, his smile fading.

            "I didn't mean to."

Donya is quiet for a moment, eying Sebastian unsurely. He opens his mouth to break the silence.

            "Just get out, please," she says, crossing her arms.

            "Baby, I—"

            "I need to fix my hair," Donya explains, starting abruptly for the bathroom door and shutting it before Sebastian can reach it. Her heart jumps as she clicks the lock. Sebastian knocks from the other side.

            "I was just playing around," he says, sounding like he ruined the evening and regrets it.

            "Donya?"

As she looks closely at herself in the mirror, there is in fact a bruise forming on Donya's upper lip. And when she lifts her dress to wipe Sebastian's cum off her inner thigh, she can't help but feel a bit horrified to find it tinted with blood.

            "Baby?"

            "I said I have to fix my hair—just get out!" Donya shouts impatiently. She waits, listening to hear the door close. She hears the music get louder a moment, hinting at the fact that Sebastian had opened the bedroom door. She sighs in relief. Did he _really_ think she was thinking about fucking his uncle? With disgust at the thought, Donya steps into the glass-walled shower, reaching with a shaky hand for the detachable showerhead. She rinses evidence of the uneasy encounter from between her legs and dries off with a towel, wincing. She returns to the adjoining bedroom and rummages through her purse until she finds her lip gloss. She hopes it will hide her reddened lip. Sebastian had fucked her up, and she doesn't appreciate having to comb her hair back into order. For the first time, Donya briefly ponders whether she wants to wake up tomorrow and marry Sebastian. That was fucked up.

            Hoping he'd be gone by the time she steps back into the party, Donya spots Sebastian at the bar, in what looks like a very deep conversation with his uncle. She is quickly roped into her own conversation with friends and drinks more than she told herself she wanted to drink this evening. She didn't want to have a hangover on her own fucking wedding day. But she tilts a glass back, just hoping Sebastian will do what he promised and scram. But to her dismay, she watches him approaching her about ten minutes later.

            "Can I talk to you? I promise I'm gonna leave right after," Sebastian says. He has to speak louder over the music, which Donya had intentionally turned up when she came out of the bedroom. She nods, excusing herself from her girlfriends with a smile. When Sebastian starts leading Donya towards the bedroom again, she stops dead in her tracks, pulling her wrist out of his grip. She points towards the front door and he follows her, clutching her hips with both hands. She smiles at the feeling, despite being frustrated with him.

            Donya can't help but notice Sebastian's uncle at the bar again, and he catches her eye for the dozenth time, winking at her. She tears her gaze away, feeling uncomfortable after what had transpired between her and Sebastian about forty-five minutes earlier. Outside the apartment, Donya makes sure the door is unlocked before closing it. Sebastian steps down the hall a ways before stopping and facing her. He looks a little irritated about something, but apologetic at the same time.

            "I told you I'd leave, and so I'm gonna. I just called my mom and Sofia's doing fine with her and my step-dad," Sebastian explains, pulling his phone out of his pocket to show Donya the picture his mother snapped of the sleeping baby girl. Donya picks up Sebastian's phone and smiles at the photo. She hands the phone back to him after several seconds. She thinks he's about to apologize about what just happened in her new bedroom when he smiles casually and grips her waist, closing the gap between them.

            "I love you," he says, "And I hope this is the best birthday party you've ever had—"

Donya's phone rings. She picks up the phone from the little pocket of her dress.

            "Ugh—what the fuck is this number?" she asks, eying the unidentified digits on her screen.

            "I forgot to tell you," she says, changing the subject, "A few days ago, I got this voicemail from some crazy lady telling me not to marry you," Donya explains as the phone continues ringing.

            "Probably some psychotic fangirl of yours—"

Sebastian snatches the phone from her. He eyes the number briefly before cocking a brow and answering. He speaks rather hastily in Romanian, but Donya can translate what she thinks is him swearing at someone and telling them not to call her again. He hangs up and proceeds to block the number.

            "What are you—?"

He presses the phone back into Donya's hand.

            "Yeah, I know that fan," he says, rolling his eyes, "Just ignore her, okay? I blocked the number so she can't call you again," Sebastian explains, tucking the phone back into Donya's dress. He pushes a hand through her hair. Still waiting for him to apologize for before, Donya gazes up at him.

            "So, what do you think of this party?" he asks. She glances away for a few seconds, trying to keep a straight face. She feels like yelling at him.

            "I can honestly say I've never had one quite like it."

            "Yeah?"

Sebastian leans down to kiss her without warning. She finds herself wanting to pull away and demand an explanation for his crazy behavior earlier. Thankfully, the kiss is somewhat short-lived, and Donya hears the door open, people talking loudly in Romanian. She doesn't have to turn around to realize that Sebastian's handful of cousins and uncle Ştefan have stepped out into the hall. Sebastian sighs, releasing Donya's lips.

            "I have to take care of some things before the wedding," Sebastian explains, caressing Donya's face. His family simmers down a bit. She turns around to glance at them. Uncle Ştefan says something in Romanian to Sebastian, to which he responds that he's coming. Ştefan and the cousins head for the elevator and Sebastian physically turns Donya's face to meet him.

            "What things?" she shrugs, "Aren't you supposed to be having a bachelor party?" she giggles. Sebastian smiles.

            "I didn't want one," he explains, "I thought I was gonna spend your birthday with you, but then you had to remind me that it's bad luck for the groom to see the bride the night before, so…" he laughs lightly, "But it's okay. I've got some things to take care of, and then I'm just going to dinner with my uncle and my cousins."

            "What _things_ are these?" Donya presses. Sebastian stops smiling, suddenly looking like he's tired of explaining himself to Donya. His hand circles her wrist and he leads her back to the apartment, opening the door so that the noise comes out, making it somewhat hard for her to hear him.

            "Just some family affairs, baby," he explains, shaking his head. He glances towards the elevator where his uncle holds the door open. Before she can ask another question, Sebastian kisses Donya and nudges her back inside.

            "I'll see you at our wedding," he says, grinning and closing the door. Donya walks back into her own party feeling like a stranger.


	2. Chapter 2

            Needless to say, the wedding is exactly as Donya had pictured it. Her entire family is there to witness, with the exception of her father, who had passed away years earlier. Her best male friend, Rob, walks her down the aisle instead. Donya had told Sebastian that this would be the case, but he looks a little displeased to see Rob kiss Donya on the cheek before letting her up to the altar to meet Sebastian. In fact, after the ceremony, she can't help but notice how uncomfortable he looks when Rob asks to dance with her. It isn't like Rob had interrupted their first dance, but she can tell it nearly kills Sebastian to see another guy wrap his arms around her.

            She didn't exactly notice this about Sebastian earlier in their relationship. Not that there were a lot of times that Donya ended up in the arms of other men in front of Sebastian. He just held her a little bit too tightly when Rob gave her back, and she didn't like the way Sebastian's mouth was pressed into a hard line until she kissed him again. Sebastian's younger cousin dancing with her doesn't seem to faze Sebastian at all. In fact, he takes the time to take his eyes off of Donya to have a chitchat with uncle Ştefan. Maybe Sebastian didn't feel threatened by his younger cousin, as the man wasn't nearly as handsome as Sebastian. If anyone else had told her he was related to Sebastian at all, Donya would not have believed them. This cousin didn't even have blue eyes, nor the cleft chin that uncle Ştefan also possessed, one of Sebastian's most defining features.

            Sofia sleeps for most of the wedding, to Donya's delight. She didn't want to deal with a screaming baby the whole night. But by the time she and Sebastian board a plane headed for Greece, the baby is inconsolable. Still feeling bent out of shape from the night before when Sebastian "surprised" her in her new apartment, she's glad that he falls asleep as soon as they make it to their hotel. Donya had successfully put Sofia to sleep and sneaked off to the bathroom to be alone. Sebastian's mother and step-dad were coming to stay in the same hotel during the honeymoon, which meant that Donya and Sebastian wouldn't have their daughter to deal with the entire trip. But as she showers, Donya feels a sense of unease about not having the baby there to distract Sebastian from sex. If it was going to be like it was at her birthday party, Donya didn't want it.

            She hadn't found a way to approach the topic with Sebastian, or to tell him she didn't want to spend too much time around his uncle Ştefan because the man kind of creeped her out. The whole plane ride there, she could have said something, but she didn't. She does her best to stop thinking about the previous night and instead be happy that she's finally married to her dream man. Sebastian would do anything for her, this Donya knew well. So she figures that if he got weird with her again, she just had to tell him to cool it.

            The following day, the couple go to lunch at a beautiful waterfront restaurant, and Donya is constantly bombarded with compliments from the waitress who can't seem to get enough of Sofia. Thankfully, the baby keeps laughing, and Sebastian keeps snapping pictures, unable to take his eyes off the pair. Sebastian buys a fancy new stroller for Sofia and the trio explore Greece, stopping in several shops and places that Donya used to only dream she'd ever see. Everything seems perfect, like some kind of dream. And for a few hours, Donya stops wondering what these "family affairs" that Sebastian mentioned were all about. For those few hours, she stops thinking about uncle Ştefan's toothpick at the corner of his lips while he danced slowly with her in his arms, singing to her (with a surprisingly beautiful voice) in Romanian on her wedding night.

            That evening, Donya can't wait for Sebastian's parents to arrive and take Sofia, just so she can reconnect with Sebastian. She's changing Sofia on the bed when she hears him talking on the phone somewhat loudly. He stops using English and starts to sound a bit angry. Donya picks Sofia up and starts towards the adjoining suite. But before she can walk through the door, Sebastian pauses, phone in hand. He smiles at her.

            "I'm sorry, baby. I just need to talk to my cousin for a minute. I'll be right there," he says, closing the door. Donya nods. He doesn't close the door all the way, however. Donya carries Sofia to her play pen and places her there.

            "Can you be a good girl and play with some toys for a few minutes?" she asks, kissing her daughter's head. Donya walks to the coffee table for her purse, pulling her phone out and searching for the voice record app. Quietly, she tiptoes to the door that Sebastian had left open a crack and kneels on the floor. She only recognizes a few words, but they sound negative. He says something about making someone stop, that it's the last time she'll ever…and Donya can't translate any further than that. She hurries to her feet and into the bathroom quietly once it's clear that the phone call is over.

            "Donya?" Sebastian calls. She turns on the sink, pretending to be washing her hands or brushing her teeth.

            "Prinţesă," he says cheerfully to Sofia. Donya can hear the baby cooing, responding to her father picking her up. He speaks Romanian to their daughter all the time. Thinking it cute, Donya can't help feeling suspicious of Sebastian's phone conversation. It sounded like something unfavorable was going on. But instead of directly confronting Sebastian about it, Donya presses her phone into the back pocket of her shorts with the intent to try and translate the conversation herself later with earphones while Sebastian is asleep.

            "I'm sorry, baby," he says, as Donya walks back out of the bathroom, "It was just some family drama," he explains, blowing her a kiss from across the room, "And I think you'll be happy to know that mom's plane is about to touch down. That means it's just you and me for the rest of the weekend."

 

            That night is one of the most pleasurable in Donya's life. Instead of going out to dinner, Sebastian orders something and keeps Donya in bed, sweating beneath him, on her knees, on her back, on her side. This time, he's at least gentler and allows her to warm up and enjoy him properly. Donya finds herself not wanting it to stop. They reach a new record. The most they had ever made love in one weekend was seven times, but as Donya opens the twentieth condom of the evening, she wonders whether she'll finally pass out due to dehydration.

            She finds it difficult to keep her eyes open when Sebastian finally goes to shower. He had suggested they save water together, but she told him she needed at least an hour to recover. Reluctantly, he had slipped away from her to bathe himself. She pulls her headphones out of her suitcase and plugs the wire into her phone. On Sebastian's laptop, she finds the best website she can manage for translation and slows down the speed of the conversation long enough that she can start getting the right words.

            He had said to his cousin on the phone that: he didn't want this bitch ruining his marriage, that she had some nerve to stalk Donya and get her number to call her, and that it was time to get rid of her. Donya's heart jumps. The last time Donya checked, _getting rid of_ someone meant more than just maybe kicking them out of your house. She begins to wonder now who the hell Sebastian had been talking about. She knows there's no other woman. Sebastian wouldn't _dare_. Would he? Feeling an anger boiling up inside, Donya uses her phone to Google Sebastian's exes. She knows good and well how stupid an idea this is. Tabloids were probably the only thing she would find, and generally, none of that stuff was true in the first place.

            "Donya?" Sebastian's voice startles Donya where she's sitting in bed, butt naked. She nearly drops Sebastian's laptop off her knees. She clutches it just in time. He looks at her with wide blue eyes, and she wonders how long he was standing there looking at her. She glances at the computer screen with shock for a moment, glad that she remembered to clear the translator of the words she'd heard in his conversation hours earlier.

            "You look…pissed off," Sebastian states, approaching the bed cautiously, "What's the matter?" His beautiful chest is still dripping wet, and it distracts Donya momentarily, but she's quick in deleting the little recording she took of his conversation with his cousin.

            "Jesus, Seb. You scared the _shit_ out of me," Donya breathes. Sebastian laughs, kneeling into bed next to her and kissing her neck.

            "What're you trying to hide from me?" he jokes, picking up the laptop, "Trying to learn some more Romanian?" he asks.

            "Uh—yeah. For Sofia," Donya lies easily.

            "Don't worry, babe. I said I'd teach her," Sebastian promises, placing a hand on Donya's thigh. She steps out of bed then and Sebastian looks on in confusion. Donya tries not to look so angry.

            "I'm just going to shower," she says, "You're nice and clean. I don't want my sweat all over you," she explains.

            "But," Sebastian states, stepping out of bed and blocking her exit to the bathroom, "I _like_ your sweat," he says seductively, cocking a brow. Donya blushes for real.

            "I told you, I need to recover," Donya says, feeling sore at her core. Sebastian grins.

            "Okay, honey. Get your shower, and I'll be waiting out here for you so we can get sweaty all over again," he explains, leaning down to kiss her a moment. He didn’t seem to want to stop, or to think that Donya was serious about needing to recover from him. Not that it wasn’t _great_ , but she could only handle so much in one day. She takes such a long shower that Sebastian is asleep by the time Donya comes back. In truth, he had wondered what she was doing on that website trying to learn Romanian. He would always teach her when she asked him. In a way, Sebastian started feeling suspicious, like he thought maybe Donya didn't trust him. As he watched random shows in Greek, waiting for his wife to get her ass back to bed, he actually hoped she didn't understand anything he'd been saying earlier on the phone to his cousin Alexandru. That conversation wasn't meant for Donya's ears. He wouldn't have been speaking Romanian if it was.

            Sebastian had even gone into Donya's phone just to make sure that the bitch he was talking about didn't try to contact his wife again. She wasn't going to ruin this for him. He had made sure of that earlier. Donya was still showering when Alexandru called back to confirm that Sebastian's bitch ex was _never_ going to have the chance to tell Donya anything she didn't need to know about him. He was going to keep Donya and Sofia safe. He was going to put Sofia through an Ivy League education someday. He was going to keep Donya a sated wife with whatever his money could buy. There was no need for her to know anything about the covert family business that Sebastian had been a part of.

 

PRESENT DAY

            "Don't act like you're scared of me, Don," Sebastian states, gazing down into his wife's eyes. She pauses, stops fighting. Sebastian wipes the tears from her cheeks. She doesn't stop him from kissing her.

            "Is it true, though? Tell me," Donya pleads when the kiss ends. Sebastian's silence is enough of an answer for her. He just looks into her eyes.

            "Nothing's gonna happen to you," he says after a moment, "I would _never_ let it. Nothing's going to happen to Sofia, either—I'll _die_ before that happens," Sebastian promises, pulling Donya closer.

            " _Why_?" she asks desperately, and Sebastian knows she's asking him why she had to find out like this who he really is.

            " _I couldn't lose you_ ," he tells her, emphatically, holding back tears. He's pressing so hard into her that her back hits the wall then, "Would you have still married me if you knew who I really was?" he asks. Her silence says it all, but Donya nods just to make sure Sebastian understands.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why am I suddenly reminded of Eastern Promises...?

THREE MONTHS EARLIER

            Donya begins to think that Sebastian is trying to kill her before their honeymoon ends; she finds it to be a bit of a struggle to walk straight out of their hotel room after they had spent all morning fucking, waking neighbors up. Without doubt, she believes that there is no nook or cranny of her body that Sebastian hasn't _at least_ touched with those hands, those lips, those fingertips, among other parts of his body. She could have told him she wanted to stop if she wanted to, but decided to keep him a happy hubby. For some reason, she'd had a feeling that Sebastian was onto her snooping around on him. The only way she can really spend time away from him is on the toilet.

            There are no more angry phone calls in Romanian for the rest of their time in Greece. Donya finds it difficult to adjust to being thrust back into New York life and Sebastian being torn away for work again, leaving Donya with Sofia in her new apartment. While making lunch for herself, there's a knock on the door. For a moment forgetting that Sebastian is in another time zone, Donya hopes it's just him checking in on her and Sofia. Excitedly, she starts for the door. Her heart just about stops. In front of her is none other than Ştefan, the uncle she'd told Sebastian looks just like him in twenty years. The man smiles, an extinguished cigarette hanging at the corner of his lips. A bouquet of yellow roses sits clutched in his grasp, the same ones Sebastian frequently buys for Donya.

            "Buna ziua," he says. Donya feigns her best smile. She invites Ştefan in, despite every fiber of her being telling her not to. She had completely talked herself out of telling Sebastian on their honeymoon that his uncle made her feel uncomfortable and she would rather not have him around. In truth, she hadn't wanted to upset her husband and lead him to think she thought poorly of her new extended family. She doesn't understand why Ştefan just showed up like this, believing he was only there for Sebastian's wedding and would return to Romania some time afterwards.

            "Sebastian asked me to stop by to check on you two while he's away," Ştefan explains. Sebastian is away in New Zealand filming a new movie. Donya relaxes a bit, walking into the kitchen to text Sebastian just to double check.

            "Really?" she asks, turning off the sink which she'd left running.

            "Yes. I am staying in town for business, and I was just at Sebastian's other apartment, getting his mail," Ştefan explains, making his way to the kitchen. He eyes Donya up and down a moment, as if to make sure that she exists.

            "Mica printesa," he says, picking Sofia up out of her high chair as if he has picked the baby up thousands of times before. Donya finds herself unable to object, turning off the stovetop. She grabs the roses, finding a vase under the sink cabinet. She fills it, thanking Ştefan, and places the flowers inside. She can't deny that they make a lively addition to the room.

            "It is only a little beauty for a more beautiful pair of ladies…My, she has my nephew's eyes," the man explains.

            "Ştefan, I'd appreciate you not having cigarettes around the baby," Donya states, unable to contain herself. He spares Donya an apologetic glance, "Draga mea," he begins, "It is not lit. My apologies," he states, allowing the item to fall out of his mouth and into the trash." He kisses Sofia's cheek. Donya only cringes on the inside.

            "Sebastian told me where he buys your favorite flowers. I figured I would be a gentleman and do it for him while he's away," Ştefan explains, eying the flowers in the vase on the counter where Donya had put them. Looking at him a moment, Donya finds herself missing Sebastian _badly_ , wishing it were him standing there and not his mysterious uncle, holding her baby.

            "That's very kind of you. Thank you."

            "And also to tell you to come by the restaurant I opened with his cousins earlier this week."

            "Restaurant?"

            "Sebastian did not tell you?" Ştefan asks. He speaks much slower, as if he hasn't spoken English in quite a while. This causes Donya to listen to him carefully.

            "Ah, a family business in Romanian cuisine," Ştefan explains, placing Sofia back in her chair, gently rubbing behind her ear a moment. Donya feels very stupid then. She had, since she met Ştefan, thought of him as a dangerous character. He hadn't done anything outwardly suggestive, it was more his presence that carried with it an ominousness that made her uneasy. Had she just been horribly dramatic about Sebastian's uncle?

            "Really? That sounds amazing," Donya explains, throwing the last bits of her salad and soup together.

            "It is, my darling. You must come tonight. Grand opening. Sebastian would not have missed this for the world, but…I know how hard he works," Ştefan shrugs. Donya decides to ask him whether he needs something to drink.

            "No, sweetness. I am just passing through. May I?" he asks. He reaches for the pen and pad of paper by the phone. Donya nods. He scribbles an address for her somewhere in the city.

            "Drop Sofia with my sister tonight and come. We will dine and tell you embarrassing stories from your husband's childhood," Ştefan promises. At this, Donya laughs genuinely. She is suddenly interested in this suggestion of Ştefan's. Her phone buzzes on the table, and she knows that it's Sebastian answering her at what is 5AM New Zealand time. After helping Ştefan to the door and allowing him to kiss her cheek, Donya rushes back to her phone to find that Sebastian _had_ in fact asked his creepy uncle to check in on her and Sofia.

            Why would Sebastian need anyone to check in on her and Sofia? Again, Donya tries to recall what Sebastian had discussed weeks ago on the phone with his cousin. Was there someone who Sebastian perceived to be a threat towards her and Sofia? Donya can only hope not as she sits at the counter, ignoring the salad she had put together for herself, watching her daughter eat the organic carrots she had boiled.

            By eight at night, she leaves Sofia with Sebastian's mom to navigate to this restaurant Sebastian had failed to tell her anything about. She reminds herself to call him later and ask him all about it. When she arrives, the atmosphere is somewhat dark and relaxed, the kind of lighting that makes people intimate. Donya is shortly greeted by Ştefan himself, and she quickly recognizes a few of Sebastian's cousins, and the one female cousin who she hasn't seen since hers and Sebastian's wedding. They greet her like they've known her for years, and Donya just keeps smiling.

            By the end of the first course, she excuses herself to the restroom, not really needing it, but wanting to see whether Sebastian had answered her text about the restaurant; she didn't want to be rude in front of people she barely knew, people who were supposed to be family. Not far from the bathroom, Donya swears she hears someone saying Sebastian's name, and repeatedly. She pauses at the bathroom door, recognizing Ştefan's voice. She hadn't noticed him disappear from the table during dinner. He speaks hastily in Romanian, sounding like he's trying to calm the person on the other line. She realizes that she has drifted several feet away from the women's room and towards a door hiding another room.

            Donya can tell that the phone call is ending and she hurries a few feet back down the hall, retreating into the bathroom. She listens through the bathroom door as Ştefan leaves, sighing. He closes the door to the room where he had been to return to the table. Donya peaks out for a moment, and seeing no one, makes her way back to the door Ştefan had been talking behind seconds prior. She turns the handle, and to her surprise, it opens. Knowing she should probably stop snooping around, and hoping that she's just dealing with some kind of post-partum mom-mode-hormonal issue, she steps further inside what appears to be Ştefan's office.

            The finished mahogany floor and walls matches most of the rest of the restaurant. Donya circles around the desk, pulling out a drawer. Inside it, she finds a small notebook, and thumbing through it, she can hardly translate the chicken scratch Romanian in it, but she pauses as the pages turn into lists. The handwriting in those lists is neater than on the previous pages, and despite speaking Romanian fluently, Donya can tell that these lists have names on them. Many of them are crossed out, except for a couple on the following page.

            Donya's heart begins to beat way too hard. She pauses at a familiar name. She swears she's seen it before. As she ponders a moment, her phone buzzing in her sweater pocket startles her. She checks to see that Sebastian texted her. And then the proverbial lightbulb goes off above Donya's head. The name she had recognized is the name of one of Sebastian's ex-girlfriends. Donya had never met the woman before, but the name is suddenly clear as day to her. Feeling frightened and realizing that what she's looking at might very well be a hit list, Donya fumbles to push the notebook back into the desk drawer.

            Against her better judgment, she lurks deeper in the drawer, only to find a photograph of Sebastian and his ex. She can tell the photo is old, maybe three or four years, from some tabloid article that she had probably seen at some point before she started dating Sebastian. The photo gives the viewer a clear look at his ex. And with shaking hands, Donya does her best to shove the items back the way she found them. Not knowing why she can't just stop, Donya pulls open another drawer. She doesn't touch the handguns she finds lined up inside it.

            For the second time in her life ever, Donya begins to experience a panic attack. She'd had the first one the day before she went into labor, and she finds herself sitting at Ştefan's desk, trying to breathe deeply and just picture Sebastian trying to calm her down. Amazingly, this does the trick. And by the time Donya sneaks back out of Ştefan's office, she _does_ have to pee. After washing her hands, she checks to find Sebastian asking her how dinner is going with his uncle and cousins at their new restaurant. She doesn't answer, not wanting to think more about the conversation he'd had with his cousin on their honeymoon. She finds herself once again face to face with Alexandru when she returns to the table. It takes every ounce of Donya's strength not to have some type of outburst.

            Before she picks Sofia up from Sebastian's mother's, she receives a text from her own mother, asking whether she'd seen something. Donya taps the link to an article that was published earlier that day. The piece talks about Sebastian's ex-girlfriend, the same one Donya had seen a picture of in Ştefan's desk drawer. The woman was found dead in her apartment, and it was under investigation, appearing to have been a suicide. There was mention that the woman, an actress whose career began to crash due to drug use, was trying to make peace with the fact that Sebastian was marrying another woman. To Donya's unease, that other woman was herself. She finds photos of herself from earlier that day carrying Sofia on her way to the store. The pictures were clearly taken by the paparazzi.

            Not wanting to freak out and trying to assume that maybe Sebastian's uncle owned guns for a different reason, Donya makes her way up to Sebastian's mother's house. She tries not to think about the fact that there's few other explanations as to why Ştefan would have a picture that clearly identifies Sebastian's ex-girlfriend and a list with her _name crossed off it_. Donya ponders the night before her wedding a moment, and wonders why she had been so quick to ignore the phone calls she'd been receiving all that week from a stranger, warning her that she shouldn't be marrying Sebastian. Was it possible that it _wasn't_ just some crazy fan and actually Sebastian's ex?

            As Sebastian's step-father places Sofia in Donya's arms, she realizes she never really asked Sebastian about his past relationships. None of it mattered to her very much, especially after he proposed to her. Why should it? There was never any indication that he wanted to be with anyone other than Donya. She never felt the need to delve into the topic of his exes. With worry, despite trying to remain calm, Donya makes her way back to the apartment Sebastian bought her with his own money.

            She pauses at the door, Sofia in her arms. She doesn't like the idea of Ştefan just dropping in to check on her, even if Sebastian asked him to. She ponders taking Sofia to Sebastian's apartment instead to spend the night there, but decides against it when she recalls that Ştefan had been collecting Sebastian's mail and probably also had the keys to that apartment. At least here, Ştefan would have to knock if Donya were to let him in.


	4. Chapter 4

            It's 10:30PM by the time Donya is done putting Sofia back to sleep. She sits in the tub  until the water starts to get cold, and the sound of her cell phone ringing in the adjoining bedroom causes her to start. Hoping it might be Sebastian calling, she jumps up, hurrying into her towel and rushing into her room. On the nightstand, she catches her phone in time before it drops on the floor. She plops onto the bed, swiping the screen open.

            "Hello," she says with a genuine smile on her face. Sebastian sighs on the other end.

            "I miss you," he says, "I love you." Donya's heart does summersaults, the same way that it does every time Sebastian says this. Hoping it will be her reaction to him forever, she closes her eyes to revel in the sound of his voice.

            "I love you, too."

            "So, what are my little ladies up to in the Big Apple?" Sebastian asks. Donya yawns with exaggeration.

            "Already tired of me?" Sebastian asks in disbelief, laughing, "Oh shit—I forgot—it's late for you, isn't it?" he asks. Donya glances at the digital alarm clock on her nightstand.

            "Little past 10:30, Seb."

            "Oh, right. It's just past 3:30 in the afternoon over here," he explains.

            "Mhmmm," Donya sighs, resting on her side. She has only slept here for a couple of nights alone, but as she tries to recall the last time Sebastian was here with her, she's reminded of the bizarre encounter alone with him in this bed during her birthday party.

            "You there?" Sebastian asks. Donya had totally zoned out, missed a couple of his sentences while thinking about that night. She shakes her head, trying to shake that feeling away.

            "I'm here. Baby…I could _never_ be tired of you," Donya explains.

            "Really?" Sebastian asks suggestively, "Not even after Greece?" At the memory of their honeymoon, she squeezes her thighs together yearningly. And now she's frustrated that Sebastian is so damn far away from her.

            "'Cause, you know if I was there with you right now, we'd be doing things that would actually give you the excuse to yawn at me that dramatically," Sebastian adds, his voice having dropped a couple of octaves. Donya bites her bottom lip, rolling onto her back.

            "I would wear you the fuck out," he states. Donya sighs, the towel giving way at her hip. She brushes herself firmly where she had begun to get wet. Her arousal is a familiar consistency, much slipperier than the water that's still dripping off her from the bath. Not entirely intending to make such noise, touching herself this roughly causes Donya to moan. Sebastian laughs mischievously on the other line.

            "What are you doing right now, baby?" he asks. She tries to picture him sitting naked on his hotel bed.

            "Well…I'm lying in bed right now. I just got out of the tub," Donya states. She can hear the smile in Sebastian's voice when he speaks.

            "Oh, yeah? Are you naked?" he asks.

            "Mhmmm," Donya replies, taking a deep breath and then sighing. The sigh is again a moan. She just wishes he was right there next to her.

            "Wanna see?" she asks, feeling in the type of mood where she would ever be so bold as to take a naked photo of herself.

            "Show me," Sebastian demands. Donya snaps a shot and texts it to Sebastian. Several seconds later, she hears him speak again.

            " _Fuck_ ," he breathes, and she pictures him beginning to paw at the erection she has surely given him.

            "Goddamn, I wish you were here with me right now so I could fuck you," Sebastian states genuinely. It almost sounds like he's whining, the way he says so. Donya moans.

            "Are you touching yourself?" Sebastian asks, his voice serious but very seductive at the same time.

            "Yeah," Donya breathes, exhaling deeply.

            "Tell me that you miss me," Sebastian demands.

            "I miss you," she breathes, rubbing at her clit fervently then. Donya sits up, squatting to get a better angle.

            "Oh, god," Sebastian replies, "Baby, I wish you were here _right now_."

            "Are you hard?" Donya asks hopefully. She hears Sebastian laugh through his nose.

            "Why? Do you want to see?"

She replies with a moan, and several seconds later, she's greeted by a picture of Sebastian naked in front of a full length mirror, his empty hotel room in the background, hard as a rock. She had been right; he was sitting in bed naked, yearning for her the same way she was yearning for him.

            "Can you see what you've done to me, Donya?" he asks.

            "Yes. I see you."

            "The first thing I'm gonna do when I get home is fuck you," he states. She laughs.

            "I'm serious. Please," Sebastian begs, "Are you still touching yourself?"

            "Mhmmm."

            "Do you wish it was me inside you instead?" Sebastian's words cause Donya to turn into a fountain, and she can feel the arousal that had begun to build up drip from between her legs.

            "Yes."

            "Sweety, I want to hear what you’re doing to yourself—I need it," he states. Feeling timid for just a moment, Donya puts him on speakerphone, lowering the volume just enough that she knows it won't bother Sofia, who's asleep in the bedroom down the hall with the door closed. With full attention to her sex now, Donya lets loose, moaning and panting. Every so often, she can hear Sebastian on the other line, cursing below his breath and inhaling through gritted teeth, knowing he's furiously thrusting into his clenched fists, imagining them to be the tight, wet, heated walls of Donya's cunt.

            "Fuck, I'm gonna cum," he pants.

            "Are you?" Donya inquires breathily.

            "Yeah."

Reaching her own orgasm, Donya can hear Sebastian making it just after her, catching his breath into the line.

            "Oh god," Donya sighs, collapsing on her side, satisfied. Sebastian sounds just as satisfied as she feels when he speaks again.

            "You're the most amazing woman I've ever been with," he says. She smiles from ear to ear. This is the first time that she's ever done full-fledged phone sex with Sebastian. Earlier in their relationship, at times where they were apart, she had been too afraid her roommates might hear her when Sebastian asked her to touch herself while he touched himself. She delights in the satisfaction in his voice.

            "I'm gonna fuck the shit out of you when I get home," he says, and she laughs, rolling onto her back.

            "You have _no_ idea how hard you just made me," Sebastian admits, "You have no idea how much power you have over me, Donya. That magic cunt between your thighs is like…like…like _doing crack_ , or some shit," Sebastian admits. At this point, Donya can't stop laughing. She's curled up in a ball on the bed. Sebastian clears his throat.

            "And I'm serious," he says. At times, he would talk to her like he'd never experienced sex with a woman before. Donya figures that for him, it had just never been as amazing with anyone else as it was with her. He sighs.

            "I love you, Donya." The summersaults begin to feel like her heart trying to physically leave her body.

            "Are you sure you love _me_ , or is it just this 'magic cunt' that you speak of?" Donya inquires jokingly. Sebastian laughs.

            "I mean it, though, baby. I _do_ …I _really_ wish I could hold you right now," Sebastian explains. And now he sounds so innocent that Donya can imagine him lying in that hotel room in his pajamas instead of lying there naked with cum sprayed over his chest. She sighs with yearning again.

            "Me, too," she admits.

            "…Tell me you love me, Donya," Sebastian breathes, sounding punch-drunk.

            "I love you, Seb."

            "Tell me you'll love me forever."

            "Seb…I _will_ love you forever. That's why I married you."

            "How's my baby girl?" he asks, sounding totally relaxed now.

            "Asleep. Hey, what about the restaurant? How come you never told me your uncle was going to stay in New York? I had no idea."

            "Yeah, baby…it was kind of supposed to be…" Sebastian sounds somewhat unsure, and Donya sits up, wondering what he's doing, "A surprise, I guess. I wanted us to go together—and I was going to when we got back from Greece—but being the idiot I sometimes am, it totally slipped my mind, and I was already tied up with this new role. It just didn't occur to me I was gonna miss it." Something about this story doesn't add up to Donya. Sebastian wouldn't have forgotten something as important as a family event.

            "Ştefan get you those yellow roses?" Sebastian asks hopefully, changing the subject. On the matter of Ştefan, Donya is suddenly reminded of the article her mother had shared with her earlier.

            "Uh, y-yeah."

            "…What's wrong?" Sebastian asks, sounding worried then. Though he can't even see Donya's face, she's unable to hide her unease from him.

            "Nothing," she says. Sebastian sighs.

            "Baby…what is it?"

Donya sighs, returning to the article on her phone that she had left up in a separate window since receiving the link in a text from her mother. She recalls the fact that Sebastian had also spoken with Ştefan on the phone a few hours earlier, while she was at dinner with him. Donya begins wanting to know what Sebastian was discussing with Ştefan, but she can't come outright and ask, as this will make Sebastian realize that she's been sticking her nose in his uncle's business.

            "I just—my mom sent me this article earlier—and before you say anything, I _know_ , I _know_ , I never look at the paparazzi pictures and shit articles they write about you or us, but um…"

She stares at the headline of the article discussing Sebastian's dead ex-girlfriend.

            "But what, baby?" Sebastian asks, sounding very interested now.

            "Did you see—did you see, uhm…uhm…your ex, they think that—well, she was found dead in her apartment, Sebby. And they think it was a suicide. And they think it was because you moved on and married, and—" Donya stops talking abruptly. She waits for Sebastian's response. He sounds very calm when he speaks.

            "I don't…know what to say. Are you _sure_ it's not just some gossip story?"

            "I mean, it definitely isn't. The story is real. I just…it freaked me out 'cause there's pictures of me out shopping with Sofia, and they mentioned us in it—"

            "Baby, stop," Sebastian says soothingly. Only then does Donya realize she's crying, "Please don't work yourself up. You don’t need the stress, especially while I'm not there to help with Sofia. If what happened is true…I'm not sure what to say, other than…I think it's very sad, and I would _hope_ that I'm not the reason a woman feels the need to take her life. I know that I've never treated any of my exes so badly that she wouldn't have been able to move on. I haven't even been in contact with my exes since I met you and we got serious, okay?"

            "No, I know. I'm not worried about that. I don't think any of this is your fault, either, it's just…I don’t want to have pictures of my daughter roped into a story about a woman _killing_ herself."

            "Don't cry," Sebastian says comfortingly, a number of the comforting things he says to her now going in through one ear and out the other. She can't bring herself to tell him what she found in his uncle's office at the restaurant. She's more afraid that maybe Sebastian had _something_ to do with this, and that scares her more. If she could have seen his face when she brought this topic up, she knows she would have been able to see whether Sebastian was lying. But he wouldn't lie to her about something this serious, so far as she knows.

            "It just doesn’t add up," she says out loud, slapping a hand over her lips almost as soon as she'd spoken.

            "What doesn't add up, sweety?"

She's silent, not knowing how to rephrase herself.

            "Donya, you know I would _never_ let anyone hurt you or Sofia. And you know that's why I asked my uncle to check in on you two, right? I just want you to know that just because I'm not there doesn't mean I'm not going to find a way to keep you girls safe…I want you to feel comfortable."

            "I know, Sebastian," she sighs.

            "Do me a favor, sweety, and stop reading articles and looking at the pictures they take of you when you're in public. If the paparazzi is really bothering you, I can talk to my agent and—"

            "No, no," Donya breathes, "You don't have to do that. I just…the suicide thing about your ex, I just—"

            "Like I said, I didn’t know anything about that. I'm just learning about it now from you. And I'm really sorry you had to find out this way…look, I know you never asked much about my previous relationships. And I never felt like we needed to go there because I make you happy—"

            "You _do_ make me happy, Seb."

            "I know. I'm not accusing you of anything," Sebastian adds calmly, "But since you're saying this happened and the story is real, all I can offer as an explanation is that things went really badly in the end with Leigh." Donya's heart jumps as her eyes continue to frantically scan the article Sebastian just asked her to stop reading. Leigh was in fact the woman's name. It's clear now that this is no simple gossip article meant to get people talking.

            "It wasn't something I did to her, it was the things she was _doing_. She got caught up in drugs, ruined her career—all this shit went down. I was sort of…I guess what she felt was an anchor at the time—but the relationship quickly got… _really_ toxic for me. Anyway—we were just doing so well, baby. I don't want to darken your night with all this."

            Donya sighs again, not really sure what to say, nodding before she realizes that Sebastian can't even see this gesture.

            "I want you to get some rest, okay? I'll call you again in eight hours, and I want you to tell me you had a good night's sleep." Donya only sighs in response.

            "Okay?"

            "Okay."


	5. Chapter 5

            Donya begins to wonder whether Sebastian would actually kill her if he knew she was out to lunch with his ex-girlfriend, the one he dated for roughly one year before she got together with him. Margarita's white smile has not lessened from the moment she held Sofia. She keeps commenting on how much the baby looks just like Sebastian, that there's no doubt in her mind that Sofia is his daughter. Sebastian had introduced Donya to Margarita when the actress happened to be at the same events in New York for films. The women had only met in passing a handful of times, thus Donya knew very little about the actress. She only knew Margarita and Sebastian's relationship ended on mutual, amicable terms. They were both actors with schedules that conflicted so frequently that they came to the assumption that a relationship simply wasn't going to work for them.

            Donya wonders if it would really anger Sebastian if he found out that she went out of her way to message Margarita on social media to suggest they meet up for lunch. She didn't exactly have Margarita's phone number. Donya had suggested the get together under the guise that she still lacked many female friends in New York and that Margarita had yet to meet Sebastian's daughter. Donya almost told Sebastian where she was really going when he called her before she left the apartment. Instead, she lied and told him she was going for a walk with the baby. It physically pained her that she had lied to him, but she can't get over the things she saw in Ştefan's office.

            Donya's aim is to get any dirt that she can about Leigh, assuming Margarita knows some things about Sebastian's dead ex. On the phone, he didn't seem to want to talk extensively about Leigh, but Donya assumed that this was because of what she said about feeling uncomfortable having pictures of Sofia linked with a story about suicide. And she has a strong feeling that he wouldn't tell her anything more for fear of painting himself in a light that she might not like. Sebastian had mentioned Leigh using drugs. What if he had himself been involved in that at one point with her? So far as Donya knows, Sebastian only drinks occasionally, but never in excess…but that he compared having sex with her to _doing crack_ had made her wonder. Maybe she's thinking too literally? She doesn't want to imagine Sebastian having anything to do with that kind of shit.

            Realizing that she should just be an adult and _call_ her husband to voice her concerns, Donya feels all the more guilty to be sitting at a café outdoors in the breeze of September with Sebastian's ex across the table from her. Donya is so nervous now that her heart pounds, and she can hardly hear the name of the salad Margarita is ordering as she gently bounces Sofia on her leg.

            "Thank you," Margarita adds, flashing her pristine smile and handing her menu to the waiter who walks away with the promise to bring their drinks speedily. Her curly hair tumbles like pieces of sunshine to the middle of her shoulders. She says something friendly and cute in Russian to Sofia, handing the baby the napkin that she won't stop reaching for in her lap. Sofia appears to be enjoying herself thoroughly.

            "What did you say?" Donya asks curiously.

            "Krasivaya devushka," Margarita repeats, "It means beautiful girl. _Yes she is_ ," Margarita adds, speaking to Sofia. Donya laughs.

            "My baby's going to be trilingual at this rate. Seb's always speaking to her in Romanian. He even uhm…" Donya gazes deeply into Sofia's eyes, which have landed on her, and she feels as though Sebastian himself can see her now, "He reads her these books his mom used to read him when he was a kid, all in Romanian. It's beautiful."

            "You're so lucky," Margarita says genuinely, "I'm so happy for you, and for Sebastian. I always knew he'd make a great father." It hits Donya then that this woman could have very well _been_ Sebastian's wife, if things had worked out between them.

            "I mean—I know you gave us that book from your trip home a while ago. But I don't speak Russian, so I can never read it to Sofia," Donya admits, going back to the previous topic. She doesn't dislike Margarita for any real reason, but she doesn’t exactly want to imagine her being with Sebastian. She realizes then the awkwardness of this whole situation. Margarita had made an appearance at the wedding and even the baby shower ages ago, but Donya had never really tried getting to know the woman on a deep level until now. Margarita laughs.

            "If you want, I can translate it sometime so you can. That was the purpose of those books you and Sebastian wanted instead of toys, right?"

            Donya nods. Out of the corner of her eye, she catches what appears to be someone taking pictures of them in the distance. She tears her eyes away from the photographer, not wanting Margarita's attention to be driven that way. Donya's heart pounds now, but she realizes that Margarita is an actress, and she probably had her share of paparazzi stalking, too. And then Donya _further_ realizes, that it might be possible for _Sebastian_ to see these photos later, and she really wishes that she had invited Margarita back to her apartment instead. She doesn't want to think about the questions he'll have as to why the hell is wife is out to lunch with his ex.

            By the time their drinks arrive, Margarita is telling Donya all about hers and Sebastian's trip to St. Petersburg years ago, the friends they shared memories with, the way that she admires the gown Donya had chosen for her wedding only about a month prior. Donya finds herself wishing she had reached out to Margarita without ulterior motives, as she actually begins enjoying herself, Margarita insisting that they shop together sometime, do things that actually make them real friends. Donya begins to relax, realizing that Sebastian himself is quite the same way, and probably won't really be made that uncomfortable by the thought of his wife and former girlfriend being friends.

            Donya finds herself having such a good time that she can't bring herself to even mention Leigh or the news buzzing around about the woman's apparent suicide. What was Donya going to do with that information, anyway, tell Margarita that she thinks Sebastian's uncle had the woman murdered? For what, really? Maybe Leigh had found a way to contact Donya in that week leading up to hers and Sebastian's wedding, but if she was some sort of drug addict, perhaps it really _was_ a suicide. Even while trying to rationalize all of this in her head, Donya knows that it doesn't explain away the reason for Ştefan having guns, a list with Leigh's name scratched off it, and a photo of Leigh walking with Sebastian tucked away in his office.

            Donya is allowing Sofia to taste vanilla ice cream for the very first time when Margarita asks permission to photograph the child for her Instagram. Throwing all caution to the wind and trying not to worry what Sebastian might think if he sees this photo, Donya gives Margarita the go ahead. Donya snaps a photo herself, sending it to Sebastian. By the time she gets back to her apartment, she's so conflicted about whether to hold her suspicions or continue on like she never saw anything questionable in Ştefan's office. She puts Sofia down for a nap and takes a bath instead.

            Later that day, Ştefan drops by again, just to check in with Donya. When he makes mention of Leigh and the story surfacing about her death, Donya finds it hard not to feel anxious around him. Ştefan admits to bringing this up only because Sebastian called and told him about it, explained that it was something she was worried about because of the pictures of Sofia involved in an article. With utter anxiety, Donya is sure then that Sebastian was in fact on the phone with Ştefan the night she went to dinner with him, and that her suspicion is warranted. Were they talking about this incident before she even saw the article? She rationalizes again by telling herself that if Leigh's death is in fact actually a murder, at the very least, Sebastian _could not_ have been directly involved, as it was determined that the death had occurred at some point during the time when he was in Greece on their honeymoon. It didn't make any sense. Why would he want anything bad to happen to a woman he had totally moved on from?

            There was no indication that Sebastian himself wanted this. The issue was the fact that an apparently unusual suicide note had been found. It was unusual to investigators in that it just didn't have the same sorts of indicators of being written by someone who would willingly take their own life. It was still possible that foul play was involved, and that it was framed as a suicide. Well, Sebastian said that Leigh had problems with drugs; maybe a deal went badly and she lost control of the situation. The next few weeks, Donya allows this information to drive her crazy.

            A knocking on her apartment door one Saturday, early in the afternoon, causes Donya to jump up off the couch, nearly spilling her Moscato. Assuming that it's just Ştefan coming by to routinely check on her and the baby, she wishes he would stop fucking knocking, lest he wake Sofia up. Donya had just come back from a day of breakfast and shopping with Margarita (whom she had actually grown to like a lot), and Sofia had gotten extremely cranky from trying on multiple different outfits. When Donya pulls the door open, she gazes with shock up at Sebastian. He smiles without teeth.

            Donya pauses and stares a moment, trying to make sure it's actually Sebastian and not his nearly identical uncle. She reasons that there's a few decades less age and a bit less intensity in the crow's feet at the corners of his eyes that she recognizes her husband. He doesn't even say hello before grabbing Donya's waist and pushing her back inside, kicking the door shut.

            "Shhh! Sofia is sleeping," Donya stresses with irritation. Sebastian's eyes widen and he apologizes in a whisper. He rushes her backwards towards the couch, nearly causing her to fall, kissing her all the way.

            "Sebastian—I thought you weren't home until next week—"

            "I lied. I wanted to surprise you," he admits between kisses. Donya barely gets a word in edgewise before he's resting her on the arm of the couch and pulling her pajama pants off.

            "Remember what I told you, baby?" he asks, breathing hastily and nibbling on her neck with a moan. Donya locks her arms around his shoulders to keep from falling backwards.

            "Huh?" she sighs, still trying to grasp the fact that he's finally back.

            "I told you I was gonna fuck you first thing when I got back," Sebastian explains somewhat darkly, as if he's angry that she has already forgotten this conversation. She realizes then that she had seen luggage scattered all around him at the front door just now, but he left it all out there, making Donya his priority.

            "Wait—Sebastian—" Donya interrupts, pulling her head back from his kiss, but by now, he is already pulling her red underwear down.

            "And this one I think would be _perfect_ for a photo shoot—" Margarita stops dead in her tracks as she's coming down the hall leading to Donya's bedroom, clad in a Givenchy gown. She gasps, covering her eyes upon catching a glimpse of Donya with her panties around her ankles. Sebastian looks shocked half to death to see her standing there.

            "Holy shit," Margarita mumbles, turning around and sprinting back down the hall, "I didn't see anything," she adds, an untruth. Sebastian had almost dropped Donya in his confusion, until she steadies herself by gripping his arms.

            "What the hell's going on?" he asks, as Donya pulls her underwear up, feeling somewhat embarrassed. Sebastian glances down the hall after Margarita.

            "Marg…?" he calls lightly, looking hella confused. He glances back at Donya with furrowed brows. The last time he'd seen Margarita was at his and Donya's wedding two months prior.

            "I said, 'what the hell's going on'?" Sebastian repeats. Donya hopes that he's only irritated that his passion was unceremoniously interrupted by Margarita's presence and not _because of_ Margarita herself. He looks at Donya, waiting for an answer. She sighs, pressing him back so that she can sit up straight off the couch.

            "I was going to say, we have company, and the baby's asleep," Donya states. Sebastian spots the bottle of Moscato and two glasses on the coffee table, beside which are a number of shopping bags. He sighs, his shoulders shrinking back a bit.

            "I was shopping with Margarita, and invited her back for some drinks. We shopped for Sofia, too, and she got cranky so I put her down for a nap. Seb, I had _no idea_ you were gonna—"

            "It's fine," he interrupts, his eyes still scanning the table and TV on low volume. His expression tells her that it's _not_ fine, however; he's annoyed.

            "But…why Margarita? Don't you have other friends?" he asks, scratching the back of his head a moment, "I mean, not that I _care_ , but you two barely know each other—"

            "Remember that book she gave us for Sofia, the one in Russian? Well, I mean, I figured I should reach out to her and have her translate it. Then we started hanging out and—" Sebastian grabs Donya's hips, looking like he doesn't believe the story she's spinning. And for the most part, it isn't true. The book Margarita gifted to Sofia is not the reason that Donya had initially reached out to his ex. He cocks a brow, nodding.

            "Okay…I think that you're making that face because…it _kinda_ looks like you walked in on your wife cheating on you with your ex-girlfriend. I mean, there's alcohol on the table, Margarita just walked out here in a revealing dress—" Sebastian begins to laugh.

            "Shhh!" Donya exclaims in a whisper, covering his mouth. He quiets down.

            "I gotta admit, I'm still confused as to why it took this long for you to try and get to know Margarita, so forgive me if I'm having a hard time with this," Sebastian explains, sounding absent from the present moment as he gazes down the hall again where Margarita disappeared.

            "But, baby," he says, giving her those eyes that mean business, his hands travelling to the mounds of her ass and squeezing, "I'm kinda pissed off. I just spent about a day in travel time, and I was going to fuck you before jet lag caught up with me," he admits. And for the first time, she realizes how exhausted Sebastian looks. The moment could not have been more awkward.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I remember when I was in high school and one of my friends said something about her aunt or uncle joking about the mafia, but it wasn't really a joke because there was kinda a mafia thing in her family. She was Italian.
> 
> Anyhow, shit comes to light in this chapter xD

            At the elevator, Margarita finally releases Donya from a tight hug. Sebastian had asked Margarita how she's been and all that casual tiny talk when she reemerged from Donya's bedroom, trying to keep from blushing about the moment she had interrupted. Sebastian smiled, looked happy, and was very polite before he had excused himself to get settled. All he really wanted to do was fall into bed.

            "Same time next Saturday?" Margarita asks. Donya nods.

            "And the weekend after that, I won't be available for a while. I'll be starting my next project," Margarita admits.

            "I'm just really glad we got to spend time together. I'm so sorry Sebastian turned up like that—he surprised me, too—"

            "No, don't even worry about it. If anything, I think it's really cute that he wanted to surprise you and Sofia."

            Donya blushes a moment, and Margarita waves, bags from their shopping spree that day hanging around her wrists as the elevator doors close. Donya sighs, shaking her head for a moment. She can't help but think Sebastian is really displeased to have walked in on Donya spending time with his ex. He _is_ an actor, after all, and had hid the displeasure superbly while interacting with Margarita. Donya shakes her head, taking a deep breath. When she turns around, she screams shortly, bumping square into Sebastian. She hadn't even heard him come out of the apartment. He clutches her shoulders, keeping a straight face. Donya's hands fly over her mouth.

            " _Really_?" he asks, "What the hell have you been doing?" Donya looks at him with confusion. His irritation grows into anger now that they're finally alone.

            "I was just saying goodbye—"

            "The baby's crying. Didn't you hear her?" Sebastian interrupts, leading Donya back to the door hastily, "And I thought you were going to stop drinking for as long as Sofia's breastfeeding," he explains, just about pushing her into the apartment. After nearly tripping, Donya turns around to watch Sebastian locking each and every knob on the door, twisting the handle afterwards as if to make sure he had done it all correctly. Donya crosses her arms, watching him with some interest and growing irritation now. Yes, Donya had given up drinking long before Sofia was born, not that she had an issue with alcohol or anything, but she had indulged only slightly on her birthday and at the wedding. Sebastian's sudden rudeness is confusing her and starting to make her angry.

            Sebastian looks surprised to see Donya still standing there when he turns around. Sofia can be heard crying in her room, but it isn't the type of cry that necessarily worries Donya to a point of desperation. Sebastian takes a few steps towards Donya and stops before pointing towards Sofia's room.

            "The baby's _crying_. Why are you still standing there?"

            "Why are you being so nasty all of a sudden?" Donya asks, trying to keep an argumentative tone out of her voice, but it's there loud and clear.

            "How much did you drink today?" Sebastian asks in the same tone. Donya scoffs.

            "Are you kidding? Why are you talking to me like I'm some kind of alcoholic? That's my first drink since our wedding." Sebastian shakes his head with frustration and rushes into the kitchen. Donya follows to watch him pull formula out of the cabinet and prepare a bottle for Sofia. But before he even finishes, Donya makes it to the baby herself, sitting on the small couch in the room to nurse her. By the time Sebastian gets there with the bottle, he takes one look at Donya and then slams the bottle down on the bureau, and in a huff, walks out of the room. His slamming of the bottle startled Sofia, who detaches her mouth from Donya's breast to start crying afresh.

            "Sebastian," Donya calls after him with utter rage. But he doesn't come back and she instead works her motherly magic to get Sofia to calm down. By the time she finishes feeding Sofia and putting her back to sleep, Sebastian still hasn’t returned. Donya's irritation with him hasn't quelled. She wants to confront him and yell, but deciding it better to let Sofia sleep, Donya merely returns to the living room to turn off the TV and put away the glasses she and Margarita had been using. Donya can recall her doctor telling her that if she were to have just one glass of wine throughout her pregnancy, it was unlikely that she would endanger her daughter's health, but she'd never had even one sip of alcohol while carrying Sofia. Today was her first time having any since her wedding. She had only half a glass of a low-alcohol content drink and this was enough to make Sebastian treat her like she was a horrible mother? He really had some nerve.

            Donya washes the few dishes there and starts into her own room. She comes to find the lamp lit and Sebastian fast asleep on the left side of the bed. He had brought his luggage into the room and left everything inside. Donya can see that he showered and changed, but as she watches him lying there topless, breathing, she just wants to strangle him. She leaves the room to make herself something to eat and watch more TV before getting ready for bed. Sebastian is still out cold when she edges beneath the quilt, trying to keep as far away from him as possible.

            She ruminates, recalling the number of fights she'd ever had with him, it occurs to Donya that this is really the first one. They had argued lightly about stupid, tiny, unimportant details before, but for Sebastian to even intimate that she was reckless with their daughter made Donya's blood boil. Reckless and unattentive are the very _last_ things Donya would ever be towards her own daughter. She tries her best to just excuse Sebastian, assuming that his 20-hour plus time spent flying back to New York from New Zealand had him in a grumpy state of mind. Donya lies there angrily for about half an hour before Sebastian's arm pulls around her middle as he shifts. She feels him exhale at the back of her head. She fights the desire to thrash him and keeps silent, unsure as to whether he had searched for her habitually in his sleep or if he had awoken for a brief moment and was trying to apologize without saying anything.

            When she wakes up, it's to the sensation of lips on her shoulder and a hand rubbing her hip. For a moment, Donya wonders whether she's dreaming. Sebastian had been such a huge bitch to her hours prior that she's surprised when the first thing she sees is a vase of fresh yellow roses on her nightstand. She turns her head to find Sebastian lying on his side behind her, kissing her bare arm. When he sees that his caresses have woken her, he looks immediately apologetic. Donya turns her head away from his waiting eyes. Sebastian sighs.

            "I'm sorry, baby," he says quietly. She buries the side of her face into her pillow. Sebastian kisses her arm a little bit longer, then just rests his chin there, the stubble scratching Donya slightly. She sits up, keeping her back to him, and when she tries to get up, he pulls her into his lap with his strong arms. As she clutches his forearm, it feels bulkier than she recalls, and she wonders if he has been working out again for his most recent role while out of town.

            "I was being a piece of shit. I was tired, and I know that's no excuse."

            "And?" Donya states, cocking a brow.

            "I just…I don’t really like that you were drinking. We both agreed we wanted to be really healthy before Sofia was born, and I just don't want you to do things that would endanger her health. But I shouldn't have been rude like I was. You're an _amazing_ mother. Sofia is lucky to have you. I shouldn't even talk, I've been gone for weeks while you take care of her every single day." Deciding that this apology is good enough, Donya reaches for the petals of one of the flowers. Sebastian had snuck out of bed before she woke up just to go and get them so they'd be there to surprise her.

            "For being an asshole, I'm very, _very_ sorry," Sebastian adds. Donya leans back into him comfortably.

            "I forgive you," she says, pushing her hand through his hair behind her.

            "In fact, I'll take charge for diaper duty for the rest of the week," he adds, sweetening the apology further. Donya smiles. She turns around to face him to find him looking happy.

            "Good," she states, kissing his forehead.

            "I was thinking, we should go out to dinner tonight, at my uncle's restaurant."

At this, Donya's heart stops a second. Sebastian wraps her further in his arms.

            "You know, since I haven't been yet. I checked the ratings online and the prajitură cu afine got really good ratings. I haven't had food from home in far too long…" As Sebastian carries on, Donya recalls the drama she had been focusing on regarding his ex's death.

            "Want it to really be the first type of cuisine Sofia gets accustomed to when all her teeth come in," he laughs. He starts to rub Donya's back. She just cocks her head sideways and grins.

            "What do you think, baby?" he asks, pulling her waist closer to him.

            "I gotta pee," she says, bouncing out of his arms and rushing into the bathroom.

            "I was thinking you should also wear that dress I like," he continues in the adjoining bedroom, plopping onto his back and gazing at the ceiling dreamily.

            "Mhmmm," Donya calls from inside the bathroom, the door open a crack.

 

            She doesn't like having to sit with Ştefan while Sebastian disappears to the bathroom. Ştefan even picks Sofia up from her high chair and balances her on his lap, talking to her pleasantly in Romanian. Donya tries her best to just look comfortable.

            "I'm sorry to interrupt your meal," Ştefan states, switching Sofia to his other knee while she busies herself putting Sebastian's napkin in her mouth.

            "But I saw Sebastian on my way out of my office and he needed to catch up with his cousin on some business, matters concerning the restaurant," Ştefan explains. Donya's heart jumps. She wonders whether Sebastian knows anything about that hit list and the guns in Ştefan's desk drawers. She has an odd sinking feeling as Ştefan looks her dead in the eyes for what she feels is five seconds too long.

            "He missed a lot while he was away. He wants to be part of the restaurant, too. Soon, we will be opening more across the country. Business is good," Ştefan explains.

            "I'm sure it's true," Donya states, staring down at the blueberry cake Sebastian had the waiter bring to the table in his absence.

            "He said he wants Sofia to have a deep understanding of her Romanian background. What better way to start than with food?" At this, Ştefan laughs, nodding. In her mind, Donya's thinking, _Please, Seb. Just hurry your ass back to the table!_ Sebastian returns by the time Donya finishes her piece of dessert, and he looks rather intense, as if something irks him, but he smiles upon seeing his uncle entertaining Sofia who is laughing on his lap.

            "Sebastian," Ştefan starts, "Your baby girl loves napkins," he explains. Ştefan had been using the item as a type of puppet, and Sofia just couldn't get enough. Sebastian picks her up, kissing her cheeks. He and Ştefan exchange words that Donya doesn't understand. She finds herself trying to read Sebastian's expression before giving up and looking away. Something just doesn't feel right to her, but she sits there and tries to appear comfortable as Sebastian sits back down after placing Sofia in her high chair. Ştefan picks Donya's hand up from the table where it was resting and kisses it, to Donya's surprise.

            "Noapte buna," he says, again, looking directly into her eyes before disappearing.

 

            Sebastian begins picking up on Donya's discomfort, pausing in kissing all over her navel. Her view of the ceiling is blocked by his beautiful eyes and Donya snaps out of it.

            "You're starfishing really hard right now, honey," he says, commenting on the fact that she was just lying there, not even making a peep, or at the very least, running her fingers through his hair. She smiles up at him shyly.

            "I'm just not…really in the mood right now," she explains. Sebastian sighs.

            "Do you think you can try to _get_ in the mood?" he asks gently, kissing her cheek. Donya sighs. Sebastian pauses, before just giving up and resting his head against her breasts. He lies there for a moment before getting up.

            "I'm going to take a shower, okay?" he explains. It had taken him a while to get Sofia down to sleep, and he just wanted to have some fun with Donya before calling it a night, but ever since leaving the restaurant, she started looking uneasy. Sebastian had felt suspicious of her the moment he walked back from meeting with his cousin in Ştefan's office. Alexandru had been the one to show him security footage of her walking into the office weeks ago after Ştefan walked out. He couldn’t imagine what she would have been trying to look for, and tried to explain it as her just being curious, that his wife wasn't going to be a problem for anyone.

            Uncle Ştefan couldn't consider Donya a problem at this point, even if he wanted to. She had willingly taken Sebastian's last name, was the mother of his daughter, and not to mention that Sebastian loved her deeply. But he knew that Donya must have been paranoid about something, as it just did not make sense to him that she would randomly reach out to Margarita and start hanging out with her. He only hopes she didn’t find that fucking list uncle Ştefan kept in his drawer, or the guns or anything else even mildly incriminating. Sebastian wanted to take his mind off of it with sex, but Donya was acting weird altogether.

            While Sebastian showers, Donya can't stop wondering about it all. She grabs Sebastian's phone off the nightstand and swipes the screen open. She pauses at the pass code, wondering what it could be. She inserts a handful of numbers, sighing when none of the codes work. Thinking to give it one final attempt, and glancing over her shoulder a moment to be sure that Sebastian is still showering, Donya dials the digits for Sofia's birthday, 2-8-17. And like that, the screen unlocks. Surprised it worked, Donya just stares dumbly at the phone in her palm. And she rummages through some texts, most of which are from his agent, mother, a few guy friends, and Donya herself. But she finds a few separate strings of texts in Romanian. They are mostly from Ştefan and Sebastian's cousin, Alexandru.

            Donya scrolls back in time through the texts from his cousin, pausing in shock upon seeing a picture that she only wishes were fake. Donya had Googled pictures of Leigh after reading that article about her death, but where she has stopped on the image of the woman lying clothed and dead in her bathtub, wrists slit, the tiled floor stained in blood, Donya nearly drops Sebastian's phone. She checks the date on this message to find that the text is from the second night of hers and Sebastian's honeymoon. With the realization that she has uncovered undeniable proof that Sebastian _did_ in fact have something to do with Leigh's death, Donya finds her hands shaking and heart thumping.

            She realizes that the shower isn’t running anymore. She backs out of the string of texts, returning to the home screen and closing Sebastian's phone, placing it back where she had found it. Donya rushes out of the bedroom and into the kitchen, where she steps on the little lever that opens the trashcan, and holds her hair back in clenched fists, vomiting pieces of prajitură cu affine. Her hands are still shaking as she rinses her mouth furiously at the sink.

            "Baby?"

And nearly choking on water, Donya jumps backwards into the wall, clutching her chest. Sebastian is standing there with a towel wrapped around his waist and a toothbrush in his mouth.

            "Donya…were you just…throwing up?" Sebastian asks, taking a few steps towards her. She closes her eyes, eventually smelling the mint on his breath and feeling his warm hand press across her forehead with concern.

            "I wasn't," she lies.

            "Honey, your hands are shaking," Sebastian states. The sink is still running. Sebastian pauses to turn it off.

            "Donya?" she doesn't want to open her eyes, or believe that the love of her life is really something different entirely. She only keeps her eyes closed, listening to Sebastian brushing his teeth.

            "Are you sick?"

She just keeps her back against the wall and eyes closed. The sink runs again as Sebastian rinses his mouth.

            "You're scaring me, honey," he says, gripping her waist. She opens her eyes then and the tears just start pouring out silently. Sebastian leads her back to the bedroom, forcing her to lie down. He presses his hand to her forehead again and she turns it, groaning.

            "Shit," he says, "We had the same thing for dinner. It can't be what you ate. Fuck, I really hope you're not pregnant again," he says. Donya stares at the wall, not wanting to make eye contact with her husband, who now looks like a soulless stranger. He brings her a glass of water, dissolving alka seltzer in it, sitting at her side with a concerned look on his face that Donya suddenly can't believe.

            "Is this why you didn't want to have sex? You should've just told me you didn't feel well," he says sympathetically. Donya drinks the medicine in about one gulp before lying down. Sebastian crawls into bed behind her, rubbing her stomach gently. It wasn't the food that had made her sick. Suddenly, the sensation of Sebastian holding her, breathing down her shoulder, is not nearly as comforting as it used to be.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I went to bed at 3AM and couldn't sleep. It's 9:41 now. I think I'm ready.

            Donya wakes to an empty bed. She sits up, realizing that Sebastian isn't in the bathroom, either. Making her way out of the bedroom, she tiptoes down the hall, pausing when she can hear Sebastian's voice. He's speaking in Romanian, and she can tell that he's talking to Sofia. She wonders what all he's saying, leaning back against the wall to listen. The baby responds by cooing every now and then, causing Sebastian to laugh. Donya can't help but smile. The smile soon fades when she thinks about the picture she found in Sebastian's phone last night. She tiptoes back to the bathroom to shower and get ready for the day.

            About halfway through, she feels a chill, and turns to see Sebastian entering the shower, looking at her hungrily. Before she can even say anything, he grabs her waist and starts kissing her. He gives her room to breathe just to pick her up bodily and press her back to the shower wall, pressing his lips into her neck and kissing hard. Donya groans, gripping into Sebastian's shoulders.

            "I just finished. I'm gonna get out," she says, but Sebastian just keeps kissing, and she gasps when his hand travels between her legs. He doesn't seem to care that she had already washed and this doesn't slow him down. He smiles at her without teeth, watching her reactions to his fingers, which really is an uninvited invasion.

            "Didn't you miss me while I was away?" Sebastian asks, strands of chestnut hair plastering to his perfectly structured cheeks beneath the steaming water. She swears his eyes are black now with lust. He wriggles his index and middle fingers in a come hither motion inside her, making Donya moan and begin to lubricate into his palm.

            "That's my girl," he says, sucking her bottom lip hard for a moment. She grips Sebastian's hips with her knees. After about a minute of fondling her, Sebastian picks Donya down off the wall, guiding her to lie on the shower floor.

            "You really fucked with me on the phone these past few weeks," Sebastian explains, making perfect eye contact with Donya, pushing her knees sideways and kneeling there before easing his fingers back inside her. She gasps, closing her eyes, not wanting to look at him.

            "Look at me," Sebastian orders, pushing into a depth that causes Donya to open her mouth and gasp, grabbing at his wrist. Her eyes widen and she moans half-terrified. The darkness has not left Sebastian's eyes, and the water trickles down his muscular chest. She realizes that if he wanted to, he could snap her like a twig. She hasn't felt this afraid of him since the night of her birthday party. That time, he had confused the fuck out of her more than anything, but in this moment, she's _scared_ of him.

            "Mmmmm," Donya howls, her knees flying to meet each other. Sebastian pauses to shove them apart again, the gold band around his ring finger glistening as he makes use of his left hand to graze her clit mercilessly. The combination of his fingers snaking in and out of her and the thumb baring down violently cause Donya's legs to tremble in pre-orgasmic outbursts, her lower back leaving the floor. Hating the way she has melted obediently into his touch, Donya covers her mouth, trying to silence herself. Sebastian's hand ripping hers away from her lips causes her to gasp again.

            "I want to hear you," Sebastian states, intent on making her explode. She's practically crying at the sensation when the moment grips her from the core, Sebastian's fingers losing speed inside of her as her walls contract uncontrollably. And suddenly, he pulls them out and she feels deprived, as if he had meant to torture her. Surprised by her own squirting, Donya gazes down at the action between her legs. Sebastian's hands clasp her hips and he just watches this miraculous reaction with a sense of satisfaction. When she's done, he pulls her up into a standing position. Panting, Donya watches him expectantly, waiting for the fucking she assumes will follow, but Sebastian just grins, kisses her on the cheek, and reaches for his shampoo.

            He closes his eyes and lathers up, and when she looks to find him semi-erect, she reaches for him. He pauses under the water, suds running down over his face, until she circles him in her fingers and starts rubbing up and down his shaft. He groans quietly, continuing to rinse his hair with closed eyes. And suddenly she realizes how easily he had just _controlled_ her every thought and action. She realizes she shouldn't be fucking him, she should be going to the police! The sight of him had disgusted her after finding that picture. He's not at all who she'd believed him to be, all this time. He's some kind of _monster_. She pauses, taking her hands off him entirely. And she opens the shower door to step out. Donya only gets one foot into a flip flop before Sebastian pulls her back into the shower.

            "Where do you think you're going, sweety?" he asks, suppressing a smile. He pulls Donya down to the shower floor, making her face the wall and kneel. There's a pause where she hears Sebastian breathing behind her. Suddenly, his pelvis makes direct contact with her ass as she finds him buried in her cunt to the hilt. She gasps as he rams into her, an iron grip on her hips. The shower floor causes her to slip, but Sebastian holds her so tightly that she can't move far. She places her hands on the wall in front of her as to keep from knocking her head there. She's reminded of some sort of wild animal, the way Sebastian is grunting behind her. He reaches around with his right hand to terrorize her clit again and she just about screams.

            "Thought you could escape me, baby? Huh?" he pants. The same euphoria takes over again and Donya spasms around his cock. Her ears perk up at all the sounds he's making and shit he's saying. She doesn't want to enjoy this as much as she does; her husband is a goddamn murderer.

            "Fuck," Sebastian exhales, and Donya feels the heat of his seed, thick and heavy, flooding her and overflowing as he gradually pulls out.

            "I've been waiting weeks for that," he admits, pulling Donya upwards into his arms and just holding onto her. He kisses her shoulder and neck lingeringly, cupping her breasts.

            "You have no idea how much I fucking missed you," he adds. He helps her to stand and she reaches for the shower door to pull it open. Sebastian's hand lands atop hers to close it.

            "Aren't you gonna help me? Why do you keep running away?" he asks with a short laugh. Donya turns to face him and find him looking curious. She picks up her own bar of Dove soap and starts sudsing Sebastian's chest up, gradually moving down his abs. He feels like a rock underneath her palms, and the sensation is genuinely arousing.

            "I love you," Sebastian says. She pauses, gazing up into his eyes, giving him a small smile. His hands travel to her waist, and massage there.

            "You look skinnier," he states.

            "I'm not," Donya states, rubbing along Sebastian's shoulders. He sighs and she realizes he's starting to see through her bullshit.

            "You are…What's going on with you?" he asks, "You're being so quiet. You keep running away from me when I touch you, you barely finished your plate last night," he says. Donya reaches around his Back, falling into his soapy chest as she rubs his back.

            "Donya," he says, picking her away from him and looking deeply into her eyes.

            "I'm just tired," she says, standing on her tiptoes to kiss him. He doesn't bother to close his eyes during the gesture. She isn't lying about being tired, however. She had only slept about an hour, feeling panicked in his grasp all night. She couldn't unsee that picture, and wondered rampantly why the hell Sebastian would leave such an incriminating photo on his phone. After staring at her a moment, he stops, kissing her forehead and taking the soap out of her hands.

            "Okay. Whatever you say," he says, not sounding convinced, however. Donya rinses the soap off herself under the water as Sebastian continues to wash. She smiles at him once more before reaching for the handle of the glass door to open the shower. His hand coming down over hers again stops her.

            "Are you fucking someone else?" Sebastian asks. At this, Donya's eyes widen.

            "I really hope you're joking, Sebastian. I _really_ do," Donya says seriously. He looks at her a while longer before grinning sideways. This time, he doesn't stop her when she opens the shower to step out, feeling what's left of him drip down her inner thighs. She just wanted to get _away_ from him, at least for five minutes. Feeling guilty that she had liked what transpired in the shower, Donya decides to take another look at the photo in Sebastian's texts. She paces back and forth in the bathroom, fighting these thoughts about forwarding the image to herself and taking it to the police. But she _can't_. Sebastian means the world to her, despite all this madness unfolding. And he's Sofia's dad. She wouldn't dare do something that might get him sent to prison for Sofia's entire life.

            When Donya enters the password into the lock screen of Sebastian's phone and navigates to his text messages, she finds that all the ones from his cousin and from Ştefan are _gone_. She did not imagine any of those messages; the texts were there last night—she saw them with her own two eyes. Feeling panicky again, she returns to the home screen and turns the phone off, placing it back on the nightstand. At some point between her looking through Sebastian's phone and going to bed, he had clearly intentionally _deleted_ all those messages. She wonders what had prompted him to do so. Was there some way that he was able to just tell that she looked at them? Donya distracts herself by getting dressed.

            She goes to check on Sofia and finds that the baby is resting in her crib, quietly. Her eyes travel to Donya's face and she babbles. Donya likes that the girl is capable of being left on her own while awake without crying. Something about her is different from any of the other babies that Donya had ever met. Looking at Sofia gives Donya a real sense of calm. She hears Sebastian coming down the hall a few minutes later. He pauses at the doorway, looking in and smiling.

            "My ladies," he says. Donya picks Sofia up.

            "I changed her and gave her a bottle before getting in the shower, so she should still be good," he explains.

            "Great."

            "I'm going to make breakfast," Sebastian explains, starting to the kitchen. Donya sits in the rocking chair in the corner with Sofia.

            "What should I do? What should I do?" she whispers, holding back tears. It isn't long before Donya can smell toast and eggs, and finds herself seated across the table from Sebastian. She eats with him in silence, but he speaks to Sofia every now and then, spooning organic applesauce into her mouth between bites of bacon. When he's done, Donya picks up the plates and washes them. When she turns around, she bumps into Sebastian. He presses her into the counter with his waist, placing his hands on either side of her so she's trapped. He kisses her and her hands travel to his chest.

            "I still can't get over how beautiful you are," he says.

            "I'm a mess right now," Donya says, shrugging and blushing shyly, gazing down at her sweatpants. Sebastian pushes his hand through her hair, shaking his head.

            "…Remember…when we met?" he asks, this faraway expression on his face. A smile tugs at the corner of Donya's lips and she closes her eyes, his hand continuing to play at her hair.

            "You told me that you were sure I was just a playboy," Sebastian continues. She can hear the smile in his voice, "because I was _way_ too handsome, too good to be true. You wouldn't give me your number," he says, his voice lowering. She steals a glance at him, his expression somewhat serious now.

            "I remember thinking…you were going to be mine, if it was the last thing I ever did." Donya's heart starts to skip beats. Sebastian's warmth against her is so comfortable that she can't believe he's able to be so gentle while the blood of another woman stains his hands. She wonders then how heavily, or _whether_ , this weighs on his conscience.

            "Do you remember?" he asks. From his tone, Donya can tell that he expects a verbal response.

            "I do," she says. Sebastian laughs a moment.

            "My friend Denny got your number. You thought it was gonna be him that would call you, but he was just doing it for me. I remember how pissed you were when I called you the next day. You just kept…" he holds her face in both hands now, keeping her gaze focused on him, "Hanging up on me, until you _finally_ agreed to go out with me…now look at you," he says, looking rather proud of himself.

            "Tell me you're mine," he whispers, pulling his arms tightly around Donya's middle.

She's silent and he clutches her harder.

            "Tell me," Sebastian breathes.

            "I'm yours," she says, closing her eyes. Sebastian sighs, looking disappointed when she looks at him again.

            "What's wrong?" he asks. He can see through her, whether she likes it or not.

            "Nothing—"

            "You better just tell me," Sebastian says, and suddenly, there's something dangerous about his voice, "Because I'm _gonna_ find out, one way or the other." Donya cocks her head to the side and just stares at Sebastian.

            "I don't know what you're—"

            "What were you doing in Ştefan's office?"

And like that, the colour drains from Donya's face.

            "Because I _know_ you weren't fucking my uncle. He would never do that to me."

            "I can't believe you," Donya says, glaring, pushing Sebastian's chest. He holds onto her.

            "Just fucking _tell me_ what's going on with you," he says angrily, returning the glare.

            "How _dare_ you?" Donya says calmly, no longer fighting to push him away. He sighs, releasing her. He starts towards the counter, placing his hands there firmly and staring hard at the wall. This isn't the first time he's accused her of cheating on him. He had done so the night of her birthday party, where she wasn't sure whether he was really joking or not, and the moment that her friend Rob walked her down the aisle at her wedding, he looked like he wanted to rip the man's throat out.

            "I don't know what happened to you in New Zealand, but you're acting _crazy_ ," she says defensively. As if on cue, Sofia starts to cry. Donya picks her up, bouncing her, and she quiets down. It's as if she could sense the fight between her parents brewing. Donya turns away from Sebastian, continuing to bounce Sofia lightly. The sound of corks popping and liquid flowing into the sink piques Donya's interest. She turns around to find Sebastian pouring both her pink moscato and merlot that she had bought the other day with Margarita down the sink.

            "Sebastian!" Donya exclaims, causing Sofia to whimper. He doesn't spare Donya a glance, anger plastered on his face. Donya places Sofia back in her high chair and moves to grab one of the wines out of Sebastian's hands, but he sticks the merlot top down into the drain, causing it to continue emptying, holding her back bodily as he finishes off the moscato into the sink.

            "I told you not to be drinking while Sofia breastfeeds," he says with irritation, "This shit's gonna taint your milk and make her sick." Donya reaches for Sebastian's arm, and he places a hand roughly against her chest, keeping her away from the bottle. He drops it into the sink before making eye contact with her. She can tell that he's doing this because he's angry.

            "I _paid_ for those—"

            "It's just a bunch of cheap wine. I'll buy you whatever the hell you want when Sofia's done breastfeeding," he states, glaring at her.

            "You're being _so_ stupid," Donya says loudly, "Why are you so crazy? Sebastian. I married _you_ —I love _you_! I _don't_ want to fuck your uncle—I don't even _like_ him! He creeps me the fuck out!"

Sebastian scoffs, "That's the most you've said to me at one time since I got home—"

            "I don't like that you had him coming around here to check on us while you were gone—"

            "What the _hell_ are you talking about? It's a good thing I _did_ have him coming here, God only knows what you've really been doing while you're here alone with our daughter!" Sebastian retaliates, pointing towards Sofia, his voice rising to match Donya's.

            "What the _hell_ were you doing in his office?" Sebastian asks.

            "He's a criminal!" Donya yells, feeling the weight leave her chest a moment. And looking as if he just wanted to get her to say this out loud, Sebastian pauses. He looks at Donya with a sense of understanding. And knowing she cannot take back revealing that she knows what Sebastian also knows, she takes a few steps away from him. He looks at her like he can't believe she actually thinks he'd be dangerous to her.

            "Baby," he says carefully, stepping towards her, "Listen… _very_ carefully to what you're saying—"

            "A woman is _dead_ , Sebastian, and someone in your family has _something_ to do with it!"

            "Whatever it is you think you saw—"

            "I don't want Ştefan coming here anymore, and I don't want him around my baby—"

            "Shut your mouth," Sebastian snaps, closing the gap between them. Donya backhands him. He closes his eyes a few seconds, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists, looking as if it takes every fiber of his being to not strike Donya back.

            "Oh my god," she breathes, but Sebastian rushes to pick Sofia up before Donya can reach her. The child had begun crying afresh during the argument.

            "It's alright, baby," he says to her, kissing her forehead. He walks right out of the kitchen and Donya follows him, dogging his heels as he takes Sofia to her own room. Donya stops in the doorway, watching as Sebastian dresses her and starts to put fresh diapers into the baby bag.

            "You're not taking my baby anywhere," Donya states intrepidly. Sebastian only looks at her, slinging the bag over his shoulder, during which time, Donya picks Sofia up and rushes down the hall to her bedroom. Sebastian is right on her tail, and her heart pounds.

            "You're being _insane_ , Donya," Sebastian calls, "You just fucking hit me." He takes Sofia out of her grasp right as she makes it to the door to try and close it on him. He brings Sofia back to her room, fixing her into her carrying chair. At this point, Donya is crying, unintelligibly.

            "You've been drinking, you haven't been eating, you're out of control," he explains, pushing past Donya as she tries to block his exit from Sofia's room. He brings Sofia to the door and places her chair on the floor before turning around and grabbing Donya by the shoulders. She beats on his chest and he pushes her against the wall, pinning her hands down.

            "I'm taking the baby and going to my place until you fucking get your shit together," he explains loudly, gripping Donya's waist.

            "You're just stressed the fuck out from taking care of her all alone—"

            "I don't want that man near my daughter—"

            "I'm taking Sofia to my place and you're going to rest here and get your shit together," Sebastian explains firmly. He picks Sofia's chair up again, carrying her out of the apartment and closing the door after himself, the baby crying the entire time. Donya slides to the floor helplessly.


	8. Chapter 8

            Donya finds herself hyperventilating, pacing. She walks into the living room, picking up a framed photo of herself, Sebastian, and Sofia. She stares at it for a handful of seconds before screaming and throwing it against the wall, where it smashes. She drops into a maddened ball on the floor and screams into the couch cushion until her throat hurts. She doesn't doubt that Sebastian is taking their daughter to his other apartment. She knows full well that he wouldn’t do anything to endanger the life of their own child. Donya had thought about going to the police, but that picture, those texts, they're all gone now. At the same time, she wouldn't have _wanted_ to get Sebastian in trouble for his ex's death, even if he had something to do with it, because Donya couldn't stomach the idea of having that shame be attached to Sofia's father.

            Having not had the best relationship with her own father, Donya had always dreamed that if she ever had kids, she would only do it with a man worthy of the title of a good father. It's one of the things Donya loves about Sebastian, his unremitting love, dedication, affection. Donya didn't really have those things in her relationship with her own father. That Sebastian actually believes Donya is having her own sort of mental breakdown and won't allow Sofia to be put in any type of danger due to it, thus taking her away, is proof that he's _exactly_ the type of father Donya wants him to be. At the same time, she can't believe that he's basically denying his own involvement in the seriousness that is the death of another person. Even if he himself didn't actually kill Leigh, not with his own two hands, the thought that he's able to wake up every day and act like things are okay is scary to Donya.

            _Act_. Maybe that's just it, and sometimes she wonders whether Sebastian's love is even _real_. Feeling ashamed that she had even _thought_ that, she cringes. Why would he do all these things, give all this time and effort, if he didn't love her? If Sebastian's love wasn't real, why had he begged her nearly fourteen months ago not to have an abortion when she found out she was pregnant with Sofia? Donya sits there crying until she can't feel her legs. When she makes it to the kitchen to pick her ringing phone up off the table, she has calmed down enough that she knows her mother can't tell she had been crying for almost a few hours.

            "No, mom—we're fine," Donya promises, "…Sebastian took Sofia out. Just a little daddy-daughter date," Donya lies, laughing as she saunters towards the sink to pick the wine bottles up. "I dunno what kind of thing a father would do for fun with his nearly-year-old daughter…Of course he heard the story…mom, I don't want to talk about this. It's not Sebastian's fault (sigh). They think it might have been a suicide. He hasn't been with that woman in _years_." As she pauses in front of the mirror in the hallway, Donya barely recognizes herself. She's a liar, and she had lied without hesitation. As she turns to the side, she can see that Sebastian had been right: she's skinnier than she was during the summer, but in a way that makes her begin to question her health.

            "I'm surprised they haven't at least tried to interrogate him yet—that poor woman was _obsessed_ with him—"

            "Mum—can we _not_ talk about dead heroin addicts coveting my husband?" Donya asks, practically screaming into her phone. The pitch of her own voice had scared even her.

            "…You're right, Don. I'm sorry."

Donya sighs.

            "Are you coming our way for Thanksgiving this time? I need to hold that little bundle of joy and have her be my grandbaby before she starts walking and turning into a little brat just like her mother was from a very young age." Donya begins to laugh genuinely.

            "Uh…I dunno. I haven’t talked with Seb about it yet. I think he might want to stay in New York. His, uh, uncle opened a restaurant. I have a feeling…they might do something there." Donya finds herself peeling at the fresh paint in the wall. If it came down to it, she'd rather her mother come to see her over the holidays, especially if Ştefan were to ever want to join in on family gatherings. She figures it's bad enough that Ştefan knows where to find her, and doesn't want him knowing where her mother's home is.

            "Okay, honey. Just make sure you ask Sebastian soon. October is right around the corner, and you know how quickly time flies."

            "Okay, mom. Yes, I'll kiss her for you…I love you, too. Bye…"

Hanging up and staring at herself a little longer, feeling grounded once more, Donya realizes that she's going to have to make a decision about the things she knows and probably shouldn't know. Maybe she's been wrong about all of this the whole time. Leigh was on and off drugs fairly soon before she and Sebastian split. For all she knows, the woman's death _was_ a suicide, and even if it wasn't, she was already teetering towards it slowly with her drug use. Wouldn't it have ended the same way eventually? Still it just couldn't explain away all the other facts, like why Ştefan had that list with Leigh's name scratched off it.

            Donya paces a bit longer before placing an order for a pizza and then calling Margarita. She had become actual friends with Margarita, and for a while had been wanting to ask her what she knew, if anything, about Leigh. By the time Margarita is sitting beside Donya on the couch, nibbling the crust on the same piece of pizza she's been eating for the past twenty minutes, Donya has almost forgotten why it is otherwise so quiet here. She had told Margarita the same lie she'd spun for her mother on the phone. Margarita likes to talk, something Donya enjoys about her. She had been thinking that it wouldn't be that difficult to get all the dirt she could regarding Leigh, if only she asked.

            "What do you know about Leigh?" Donya finally asks, pulling her knees to herself on the couch. Margarita's eyes widen for a moment, and she finally reaches for a second slice of pizza.

            "What? Why? You never discussed her with Seb?" Margarita asks. Donya sighs.

            "Not really. And…well, it's just that my mom is hung up on all that bullshit TMZ sort of rubbish gossip. She _actually_ had the nerve to ask me whether the police have interrogated Seb—"

            "What?!" Margarita interrupts in disbelief, before bursting out laughing. Donya grins.

            "I know. She's…" Donya sighs, rolling her eyes.

            "I don't know where to _start_. Leigh was fucking insane, to say the least," Margarita admits.

            "Tell me more."

            "Well…" Margarita swallows hard a moment, looking nervous, "She used to stalk me. Yeah, there was this whole… _thing._ I guess you could say, she thought of it as an, 'if I can't have him, nobody will' kinda thing. I never formally met her. I mean, the worst she ever did was—" Margarita stops abruptly, stuffing half her slice of pizza into her mouth.

            "You can't just stop there!" Donya urges, nudging Margarita's leg playfully with her socked foot. Margarita finishes chewing to laugh and swallow.

            "I just…it's kinda weird to talk about when I was dating your husband."

            "I want to know! Please, I'd rather hear it from you than the tabloids," Donya explains genuinely.

            "Okay. But promise me you won't forget, _you_ asked…Anyway, she pretty much stalked me the entire time I dated Seb. It got to a point where we were both very tired of it—but aside from that, we were going to amicably split up anyway—we just…didn’t really have the time for each other at that point in our blossoming careers," Margarita admits, for several seconds, avoiding eye contact with Donya. She can tell that the woman feels awkward about talking about it.

            "We never made an announcement that we broke up—we just did it. So I guess Leigh thought we were still together and that she had reason to stalk me. Looking back on it, I think that was the _point_ of her whole act. She just wanted me to break up with Seb. Anyway, there was this audition for an indie film—I can't even remember what it was called—but Leigh showed up in the middle of my audition. Sometimes I still think she's the reason I didn't get that role. It freaked me out, you know? Caught me off guard. She was an actress, too, but _damn_ she just had it out for me. She stole my phone from the dressing room. She was, like, had this personal vendetta against me. I mean, at that time, I think _you_ were actually dating Seb, so I was _way_ out of the picture. But like I said, the breakup was kept very quiet, so I guess she assumed I was still with him.

            Anyway, she stole my phone to get his number. Oh my god, I remember now—because Seb had to change his number because of her. She wouldn't _leave him alone_! Poor guy. He told me she once even threatened suicide when he tried to break up with her for the first time—you know—when she started using…and now it's just…(Margarita shrugs) really kind of sad. He tried to get her to go to rehab at some point in their relationship…anyway, so she stole my phone, got Seb's number, and I later found out she took _every_ female contact from my phone and called people I knew, telling them she was his girl or some crazy shit."

            Donya had moved much closer to Margarita during this entire wild story. Thinking about it, there were a couple of times that Donya had received creepy calls from someone claiming to be Sebastian's girlfriend and telling her to stay away from him. It had happened a couple of times early in her relationship with Sebastian, but she always just figured that it was the few overzealous fans that pretty much stalked him, fans that maybe Sebastian had been far too nice to and given the wrong idea. At this point, Margarita pauses, laughing rather hard.

            "You got _way_ too into this," she states, unable to control herself. Perhaps the random calls Donya had been getting that week of her wedding were actually _Leigh_ herself. Maybe it was _never_ just some psychotic fangirl of Sebastian's.

            "Honestly, I think Seb had been set up with her by his agent just because Leigh was half Romanian or some shit. Thought it might be cute for him. Weird," Margarita adds. Donya stares off into space, reliving in her head the events of the night of her birthday party in the apartment. When Sebastian had grabbed her phone, he had ranted hastily in Romanian to whoever was calling. Thinking back on it, Donya realizes that it doesn't make much sense that he wouldn't have just told the caller off in English. Her heart lurches a moment, and she starts drawing more connections between Margarita's story and those mysterious phone calls. Sebastian had supposedly blocked the number from being able to contact Donya again. In Donya's head, there's no other explanation as to why Sebastian would feel the need to _block_ this number instead of simply tell Donya to ignore the calls.

            "Worst she ever did was steal my phone and threaten to beat me up if I didn't give her Sebastian's number. I guess that's why she did it in the first place," Margarita finishes, rolling her eyes and starting towards the kitchen.

            "Aww, did you finish that moscato all by yourself?" Margarita calls from the kitchen, a hint of disappointment in her voice. Donya snaps out of her zone out.

            "Sebastian drank it," she lies.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am dedicating this chapter to superloveverything, because he/she went back and deleted all their comments. Not sure if somehow my response to you scared you away. Was not my intention. Take it as you will (¬‿¬) Also, I made some adjustments plot-wise involving Leigh's murder. Changes are evident in chapter 1. Carry on.

            Margarita's phone ringing interrupts her gushing to Donya about her most recent role in a science fiction film. She gasps, answering the phone, eying Donya apologetically. After a brief conversation, she places a hand on Donya's knee.

            "I'm so sorry, honey, but I've got to go. I was _so_ excited when you called that I forgot all about this appointment with my stylist. It totally slipped my mind," she explains, pulling her beautiful hair up into a ponytail.

            "It's okay," Donya says genuinely, shrugging. The two had been sitting on the couch talking for almost three hours.

            "I _swear_ , I'll make it up to you. I'm sad Seb didn't make it back yet. I would have loved to see my little devushka," she explains. Donya laughs. Margarita kisses her on the cheek after shoving her feet back into her boots.

            "I'm sure she misses you. My daughter loves everyone," Donya explains. Margarita smiles warmly.

            "Thanks for the pizza. Love you."

            "You, too. Thanks for stopping by," Donya adds, standing to let Margarita out as she throws on a stylish black trench coat. Donya sighs as she walks back to the living room. She folds the empty pizza box and takes it to the trash in the kitchen. She picks up her cell phone where it's charging on the countertop. Nothing. Sebastian hasn't said a word to her. Not really knowing what else to do, Donya takes herself for a walk, wandering around the city for about an hour and a half before returning to find the apartment just as empty as it was before. She felt like there was nothing to do without at least having Sofia around.

            For a moment, Donya regrets that Sebastian had convinced her to quit her job a month before Sofia arrived. It's only supposed to be for a year or two, just to give Donya a more than average maternity leave for Sofia. She had wanted to do it, too, but she reasons that if she was still working editing magazines, she'd probably never have found out about Ştefan's hit list, and thus wouldn't be so crazy about the drama with Sebastian's dead ex. Donya showers, wishing that Sebastian had _not_ poured all her white merlot down the drain earlier that day. She doesn't drink frequently, but it sure would help to have a drink right about now.

            It's almost 9PM before Donya pipes up the courage to call Sebastian on the phone. When he answers, he sounds almost bored. At the same time, she can tell he's surprised that she called.

            "Hello?"

            "Sebastian…"

Several seconds pass. She listens to him sigh.

            "Please, just come back. I miss my baby," she says. Sebastian sighs again.

            "Have you calmed down yet?" he asks. His voice is all the way calm, and she reasons that he can't still be too upset.

            "Listen, honey, why don't you just go to bed? I already put Sofia down for the night. I don't want to take her back over there and wake her up. Why don't you take a hot shower, go to bed—"

            "Seb, _please_ ," Donya interrupts, closing her eyes tightly, "I just need to talk to you. I don't want to do it over the phone." Anger makes itself apparent in Donya's voice. She hadn't meant for it to come back so strongly.

            "So you _haven't_ calmed down yet," he states matter-of-factly. Donya scoffs with frustration.

            "Just _try_ to get some rest. I'll come over in the morning—"

            "Just tell me the truth, Sebastian, about what is _really_ going on. You already know that I'm suspicious of shit. Remember when we started dating and you promised me that you would _never_ lie to me? Huh? So tell me—"

            "We're _not_ doing this over the phone," Sebastian interrupts, and she can tell by the finality of his firm tone that she might as well drop this. She starts to cry, crashing down angrily onto  the bed in her bathrobe. Sebastian sighs, and his tone becomes apologetic.

            "Don't cry, Don…Look, I'm not going to fight with you right now…I think you're stressed out. You _have_ been ever since we had the baby. The way you're acting, maybe this is _normal_ for new moms. I think _that's_ what's going on with you. I'm trying to _help_ you, baby. Please, go to bed and get some rest. I'll take you and Sofia for pancakes tomorrow morning, and you can ask me whatever you want then—"

            "Can we talk about Leigh? And how she stalked you—"

            "Donya, stop it…I haven't lied to you about anything. I…there are some things that maybe you don't know about my family, and they're not things that I can just share with anyone—"

            "Even your wife?" Donya interrupts. Sebastian sighs again.

            "Why are you _doing this_ , Donya?" Sebastian asks. She's silent, grinding her teeth angrily, staring at the wedding photo of herself and Sebastian on the nightstand.

            "Why are you treating me like I'm some kind of villain all of the sudden? Huh? You know I love you with all my fucking heart. You know everything I do—it's for you and Sofia—nobody else. And why don't you tell me why you hate my uncle _so_ much? …Has he done something to you that I should know about?"

Donya hangs up. Instead of changing into her pajamas, she shoves her legs into a fresh pair of jeans, throwing on a sports bra under a wine red long sleeved shirt. She grabs her phone and purse, throwing her coat over her shoulders before stepping out of the apartment and making her way towards the staircase, too impatient to wait for the elevator.

 

            Sebastian's eyes are wide when he finds Donya standing at his front door about thirty minutes after she hung up on him. She had knocked incessantly. It's not like he was sleeping; he was busy trying to call her back, even dialing the landline at the other apartment. He was starting to get worried when she wasn't answering, and the whole cab ride there, Donya had blatantly ignored his texts. After looking surprised to see her, the first thing Sebastian does is pull her into a tight, relieved hug. Surprised he's not just furious with her instead, Donya doesn't pull away.

            "You didn't have to hang up like that. I was worried, Donya." He pulls her in and she walks into the room to sit on the couch, throwing her coat on a chair.

            "What the fuck, Donya?" he says, gently, "You had me scared. Why didn't you pick up?"

            "I told you: I didn’t want to talk over the phone," she states, turning away from him and staring into space. She feels the couch dip as he sits there next to her, sighing.

            "Will you at least _look_ at me?" Sebastian asks after her silence leaves the room empty for far too long.

            "You came all this way because you wanted to talk, Donya. So talk."

She just wants to yell at Sebastian, but she doesn't even know where to start.        

            "…Did Ştefan hurt you while I was away?" Sebastian asks. She's surprised by the directness of Sebastian's inquiry. Since she met Ştefan, she was convinced that Sebastian believed he could do no wrong, that he believed Ştefan wasn't even _mildly_ sketchy. Sebastian grabs Donya's wrist.

            "Hey," he says, and when she turns to look at him, there's this terrified expression on his face, "Is _that_ why you hate him so much? Did he do something to you?" Sebastian repeats, his hand around her wrist actually trembling. She stares at it a moment, and Sebastian visibly tries to calm himself, unable to look away from her until she answers him.

            "No. I just don't trust him," she explains. Sebastian sighs. Donya's brows clench.

            "Wait…you think he's dangerous, too," she says. Sebastian looks at her like she's crazy, and this look is enough to send her over the edge. She stands up, grabbing her coat and starting for the door. Sebastian grabs her by the waist, physically stopping her.

            "Don—"

            "It's bad enough that I _know_ he's done something. What's worse, my own husband doesn't want to believe me—"

            "I didn't say that," Sebastian interrupts, pleadingly.

            "Just come here," he says when she pulls away. He runs ahead of her and stands in front of the door.

            "Damn it, Donya. Sit down and talk to me. You came here for a reason. You want to do this?" Sebastian asks, fighting to keep his voice down, "Okay—then let's settle this. I'm not going to let you just run away now. You've said some pretty serious things, things that I don't think even _you_ understand the gravity of—"

            "I understand _perfectly_ , Sebastian!"

He rushes towards her, motioning for her to be quiet.

            "I know you don't want to wake Sofia. Just…sit down and _talk_ to me," he says gently, placing his hand at the small of her back. She hurries back to the couch and sits there. Sebastian sits closer than she wants him to and she stands again. He stands as if to stop her from running to the door again.

            "I just don't…trust him, and I have good reason not to."

            "Why? Because you snooped around in his office?" Sebastian asks, crossing his arms and looking stern.

            "Why did you even _do_ that, honey? What made you think that was something you had to do?"

            "If I didn't tell you before, it was because I didn't want you to get upset…Ştefan makes me _so_ uncomfortable, Sebastian. And I saw some things that validate the way I feel," Donya explains. She doesn't realize that she's crying until Sebastian wipes a tear from her eye, looking apologetic. She turns her face away from his palm.

            "Like what?" he asks gently.

            "Guns, for one thing—"

            "Donya—"

            "No, _listen_ to me," she says, whispering fiercely as to keep from yelling.

            "I…I know it sounds crazy—"

            "Because it kind of _is_ , baby," Sebastian interrupts, "My uncle owns guns because he was in the Armed Forces, okay?" The way that Sebastian is speaking now is so calm that Donya herself starts to calm down, "He took me shooting for my bachelor party. I wasn't gonna tell you that _that's_ what I was doing to celebrate my last night being single. I had a pretty good feeling that maybe you wouldn't like it," Sebastian explains. And then she just turns away from him. He sighs, wrapping his arms around  her waist.

            "So he owns a couple of guns. They're registered. He's not just killing people." Gradually, Sebastian pulls Donya towards him, until her back makes contact with his chest. He practically whispers in her ear now, causing her to close her eyes and inhale the intoxicating aroma of his aftershave.

            "Do you really think that if I had any reason whatsoever not to trust him, that I'd have had him checking in on you and Sofia while I was out of town?" Sebastian asks. Donya sighs.

            "But, there was—"

            "Shhh. No, no," Sebastian whispers, turning Donya around and bringing her to sit on the couch with him. She wipes her eyes some more, and Sebastian reaches for a box of tissues on the coffee table, wiping her cheeks.

            "Am I crazy?" she asks, not really having meant to say this out loud. For the second time since she confronted Sebastian about Ştefan, Sebastian regrets lying to her. He has allowed the love of his life to question her own sanity. But Sebastian knows better, he just can't bring himself to tell her that Ştefan, albeit indirectly, has something to do with Leigh's death, that what Donya had seen in Ştefan's office was all real, and that if she imagined up a scenario where Ştefan had a hand in Leigh's death, she was in fact not wrong, nor the least bit crazy. He tries to feel a sense of relief; he hadn't lied about Ştefan giving him the guns to take to a shooting range the night before the wedding. But there was so much more to the story.

            "No, baby. I think you're still adjusting to motherhood. I get it now, you're just thinking about Sofia's safety. So, naturally, everyone, especially people you're still getting to know, you feel like you can't trust them at the drop of a dime, just like that," Sebastian explains. By now, Sebastian has gotten an arm around her, and Donya finds herself turning to mush, melting in his cerulean gaze.

            "I don't want you to get angry," Donya states. Sebastian's expression is neutral, "But…I asked Margarita about Leigh—just to understand the whole situation around Leigh's death. She told me…she used to stalk her. And I believe that's true, Sebastian, isn't it? I never told you, but in the beginning of our relationship, I _did_ get some weird phone calls, and I think it was _Leigh_. I always shrugged it off, thinking maybe it was just some insane fan. But…"

            "I don't know what to tell you about that," Sebastian says, looking away for a handful of seconds.

            "I think…maybe you feel like you're responsible? Sometimes? Margarita told me that you tried to get Leigh to go to rehab at some point—"

            "All this is true, and I'm sorry to interrupt you, baby, but I don’t want to talk about this," Sebastian explains calmly. He pulls his other arm around Donya.

            "Do you trust _me_?" he asks.

            "Of course I do—"

            "Do you trust that I would fucking die before I let anything happen to you or Sofia?"

            "Sebastian, you _know_ that I do—"

            "So, can we _please_ just leave this here?"

Donya can't respond. She wants to say yes, but the curiosity is killing her. She wants to hear it from Sebastian himself. There's something more, she feels, that maybe even Margarita did not know and couldn't tell her.

            "I'm trying… _really_ hard to just be a good husband and a good father—"

            "You _are_ ," Donya interrupts. Sebastian looks her square in the eyes.

            "I just want you to be _happy_ ," Sebastian explains, "And if I can't even do that, then…"

            "You _do_ make me happy," Donya states, her voice cracking and fresh tears falling down her face. Sebastian wipes them away again.

            "Then why are you harping on this terrible thing that happened? Look at what it's doing to you," Sebastian explains, his voice so sweet that she can tell all he's trying to do is sooth her, "All you need to understand is that Leigh…she took her life. She had demons. When I was with her, there was a point where I loved her, and I tried to help her. I guess…I hate that it feels like I failed her in some way—"

            "You tried," Donya says reassuringly.

Sebastian nods. And at this point, Donya stares at the bruise on his right temple and eye area. She frowns, reaching for it gently.

            "I'm _so_ sorry I hit you," she explains, crying afresh, "I can't believe I hurt you like that," she says. To her surprise, Sebastian grins.

            "I'm okay. The only way you could ever hurt me is by breaking my heart," Sebastian explains, and there's a flurry of rushes through Donya's whole being as Sebastian cups her hand, kissing the back of it for a long moment. His warm lips desensitize her upset and she sighs.

            "Seb, I love you. I hope that I didn't," she explains. He stands, taking her by the hand.

            "Let's go to bed. Tomorrow, we can start all over."


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nearing the end. Got a chapter or two left up my sleeve. I was struggling hard with trying to figure out how to play the plot, because I realized that I know NOTHING about the law as it pertains to felonies and sentences for particular crimes (which can differ state by state, and I'm a Masshole, not a New Yorker). I think what I decided can make sense, though. LMFAO.

            Sebastian leads Donya to his room. She looks around at all the clothes folded over chairs and spilling out of the closet. Sebastian blushes momentarily. 

            "Please excuse all the mess. Since I got back, and even before I left to film, I've been trying to do laundry and get rid of the clothes I don't wear much anymore," he explains. When she turns around, Sebastian is topless and taking his jeans off.

            "That's part of the reason I was staying over at your place. I'm gonna shower. I'll be right back. Please make yourself comfortable," he says. Donya spots a monitor on his nightstand and gasps.

            "You set up the baby monitors?" she asks in excitement. She picks up the audio-visual monitor, suddenly able to see Sofia sleeping in her bassinet in the other room. Sebastian giggles.

            "Yeah, I know you've been wanting one of those super high tech ones. I bought it in New Zealand. I was gonna bring it back to your place and surprise you with it," Sebastian explains. She jumps slightly upon feeling him wrap his arms around her from behind, now completely naked. With the sharp detail of the device, Donya can see her daughter's chest rising and falling. Sebastian rests his smooth chin on her shoulder and sighs.

            "Your hair's still wet. You're gonna catch a cold going outside at night like that," he explains with care, playing with a clump of her hair a moment.

            "I was in a hurry," Donya responds emptily.

            "Anyway, I had plenty of time to set it up ever since I came over here."

            "I love this, Sebby."

            "Here," he says, reaching for a button and tapping it, "you can hear everything, too," he explains. There's no noise where Sofia is sleeping, except her gentle groan as she fidgets in her dreams a moment. Suddenly, Donya feels even worse for having hit Sebastian and yelled at him. He wasn't lying before; everything he did, he did for her and their daughter. She smiles, placing the monitor back on the nightstand before turning around to pull Sebastian into her arms. Her face vibrates against his chest as he laughs, her nose squashed against it. She hugs him hard. He winces, continuing to laugh.

            "Fuck. Your hands are _freezing_!" He exclaims quietly. Donya doesn't want to let him go.

            "Te iubesc, Sebastian." His heart lurches and a warm sensation emanates from the pit of his stomach up into his throat, and his head rushes. This is one of the few things that Donya can say _properly_ in Romanian.

            "Really?" He asks, as she peels her face from out of his chest to find his bewildered expression. She nearly cries afresh. She hadn't been _acting_ like she loved him very much. She starts to apologize profusely.

            "We're going to be okay, baby," Sebastian promises, gripping her wrists. He plants a lingering kiss on her forehead before pulling back.

            "Get comfortable. I'll be right back," Sebastian promises. Donya stares at his bare ass as he walks to the bureau and finds a fresh towel.

            "Don't try to wait up for me. Just get some sleep, okay?" he says, wrapping a white towel around his waist before walking out of the room. Donya removes her shoes, stepping into a pair of new flip flops she finds tucked halfway into a suitcase. She removes her jeans, and everything except for her underwear. She pulls a black t-shirt off a hanger in the closet and sniffs the pits. The article is clean, but she can just vaguely smell Sebastian’s cologne in the fabric. She pulls the shirt on. By the time Sebastian gets back, she finds it hard to keep her eyes open. She lifts her head to look at him.

            "Told you not to wait for me," he says, looking sad that she's not sleeping. She grins at him, beckoning him to the bed. He grins.

            "You aren't exhausted?" he asks.

            "I didn't have the baby all day," she says, for once realizing just how much work she does on a daily basis while Sebastian is a way. He hasn't really had an entire day alone with Sofia before, and she figures that changing pooped up diapers, mixing formula, and washing bottles endlessly has tired him out. Sebastian pulls on a pair of boxers, throwing the towel into a corner where there's an overflowing hamper. He looks back at Donya apologetically.

            "It's such a mess. I almost wish you hadn't come over," he explains. Sebastian had even gone so far as to find a professional maid, who dropped by Donya's luxury apartment every other day while Sebastian was gone.

            "It doesn't bother me. Just come here," Donya says, growing tired of waiting for him, reaching out with open arms. Sebastian sits on the bedside, reaching for a bottle of lotion. Donya pumps out a handful before he can make contact with it. She rubs the substance under her palms before kneeling behind Sebastian and running her hands down his back. She clenches her fists and kneads her knuckles into his shoulder blades. Sebastian drops his head forward and moans. She places a kiss at the nape of his neck and pumps more lotion into her hands before running them down his arms.

            "My mom called me earlier and she wants to know what we're gonna do for Thanksgiving," Donya explains, resting her head on a broad shoulder after she finishes rubbing lotion into it.

            "We should go visit her in Boston, if the weather won't be terrible," he says, pumping more lotion into his hands and rubbing it down his legs.

            "I dunno…I think we should stay here," Donya adds, "Maybe even host it at the new apartment. What do you think, baby?" she asks, kissing his cheek. It lifts under her lips as he smiles.

            "Why don't we just play it by ear for now?" Sebastian asks. She wraps her arms around him, continuing to place enticing kisses on his flesh. He laughs.

            "Are you tryna start something, Mrs. Stan?" he asks, lowering the tone of his voice. Donya shivers, laughing beneath her breath. Sebastian turns around, wrapping her into his arms.

            "'Cause I hate to tell you, but I'm a little too tired," he explains, cocking a brow. He shifts so that he finds his way atop Donya, halfway beneath the quilt. Her eyes widen; his weight is heavier than she remembers it being, and as she cups a bicep, it looks to her like he's been bulking up again.

            "I'm really sorry," she says for the twentieth time, frowning at the bruise on his temple. Sebastian only smiles.

            "Sunt bine. Te voi iubi mereu," Sebastian explains, pausing to kiss her, "Inima mea bate numai pentru tine." Donya smiles.

            "…So, that was you are fine…and…you love me…like…some kind of…uh…" Sebastian starts laughing and Donya blushes genuinely. She hides her face in both hands, blushing harder upon feeling Sebastian kiss the backs of her palms.

            "You're getting better," he explains, "It's okay. I haven't gotten around to teaching you much, have I?"

            Donya sighs, "I bet Sofia understands more than I do, and she doesn't even _talk_ yet," she explains. Sebastian kisses her hands again, and she moves them out of her face.

            "You'll learn," Sebastian promises.

            "I should be able to speak it by now," Donya adds, and Sebastian senses her genuine disappointment, "I want Sofia to be able to speak it with me when she starts talking." Sebastian kisses her.

            "You will. Maybe tomorrow, we can _finally_ start having lessons. I'll start all over again with the basics," Sebastian explains. She pushes her hands through Sebastian's hair. She keeps opening her mouth as if to say something, but pauses each time. Sebastian cocks a brow, suddenly very curious.

            "What is it?" he asks. Her hand had begun to tremble on his cheek.

            "I don't mean to get into anything all over again, but I haven't been able to stop wondering…why do you look so much like Ştefan? _Why_ does he look so much like you? It's kind of scary, I have to admit. Are you _sure_ he's not actually your dad?" Donya only knows that Sebastian's biological father passed away at some point just after his parents divorced when he was a kid. She never pushed him to talk much about it, figuring she didn't really like talking about her own father very much. To Donya's relief, Sebastian's expression remains neutral.

            "He's not. I'm pretty sure of it. Otherwise, my mother has a _lot_ of explaining to do. No, my dad was a twin. I've seen pictures. I actually sometimes think he reminds my mother so much of my dad that it scares her, too," Sebastian explains. He watches as Donya's jaw gradually drops. And then he laughs.

            "I don't think I look like him. Then again, he tells me my dad didn't think so, either. But they were brothers, so I'm sure they could tell their own faces apart. My mom says she was always able to tell them apart…" Sebastian shrugs, glancing sideways a few seconds.

            "Wait, how long have I been married to you without knowing this?" Donya asks.

Sebastian laughs, carefully unburdening her of his weight. He reaches for the lamp light, turning it off. She relaxes, snuggling up to him.

            "You're the cutest thing when you're confused," he explains quietly. He watches her drift off to sleep in the dark, for a moment, wishing that she would stop wondering about Ştefan. There isn't a whole lot he wants her to know about his uncle, at least for her own sake. He only hopes that when he wakes up tomorrow, she isn't still fixated on Ştefan and his activities. She had already pieced together the fact that he is somehow tied into Leigh's death. Though exhausted, Sebastian finds it hard to sleep. He doesn't know what he'll do if Donya ever finds out that he, too, has a hand in Leigh's death. He wouldn't want her to be unable to ever look him in the eye again.

 

                                                                        PRESENT

            "I just want you to tell me what _really_ happened," Donya pleads. She can't bring herself to sit down, her back still to the wall. Sebastian's arms have travelled to her waist. He tightens his hold on her. She no longer seems to be looking at him; instead she stares through him, as if she's trying to see what he's actually thinking.

            "You don't need to know," Sebastian states with finality. Her brows furrow together, and she's still seeing through him, almost as if she thinks squinting harder will bring the truth to light.

            "It's not just about you at this point," she says quietly, "Think about Sofia. Think about her growing up…without you." And when she meets his eyes, his own are watering. He had been holding back from telling her anything, even when he called her the first night he spent in prison. He wouldn't speak to the police, even. Donya knew he was trying to hide something ugly from her, something a part of her feared Sebastian thought would take her love away for good. But hearing his wife say the things she just said are all the impetus he needs. He takes one deep breath, as if to brace himself.

            "Fine. I'll tell you."


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right, so if you've been following along, this is Sebastian's POV now, from the past, as he explains to Donya what happened, plus some history on their relationship. Sorry this chapter is super long. I dunno, I am trying to finish up. Now I think it might be one or two more chapters. We'll see.

FOUR MONTHS EARLIER

            In a way, Sebastian felt as if he was honoring his late father by helping his uncle establish roots in the States. Sebastian hadn't seen very much of Ştefan over the years, but his vivid memories of the man had always been pleasant. He figured it only made sense to reach out to Ştefan, knowing he was going to want him there when he married the love of his life. Sebastian couldn't be happier. His mother, on the other hand, made an effort to rarely look Ştefan in the eye. It seemed that he bothered her somehow, not that Ştefan was ever anything less than respectful and kind to Sebastian's mother. Still, she would rarely look Ştefan in the eye.

            Sebastian assumed it was because to her, it was like seeing a ghost. Somehow, Sebastian has always known that Ştefan is not his father, despite the striking resemblance, but could have very clearly passed for him. As they sat in a little hole-in-the-wall café, whose manager was a proud Romanian, they both let him believe Ştefan was his father. Ştefan thought it was funny. He had told Sebastian while stirring brown sugar into a cup of iced coffee one hot July day, that it made him feel proud. He would have been proud to be Sebastian's father. He felt some sense of duty to Sebastian, as if to honor his late twin brother.

            After discussing all the details regarding the restaurant that Ştefan wanted to bring over from home, Sebastian asked his uncle to be his best man. Had his father been alive, Sebastian would have asked him, so it seemed the next logical step to ask his uncle. Initially, Ştefan had not known anything about Sebastian's engagement; Sebastian didn't want to tell him over the phone while the older man was in some apartment alone, almost 5,000 miles away. It warmed Sebastian's heart when his uncle's eyes glazed over. But the tears never fell out. Ştefan could not stop staring at the photos of Donya holding Sofia, telling Sebastian how beautiful they both were, how lucky a man he was.

            Sebastian had walked out into the July heat of New York that day feeling like the happiest man alive. Taking a cab to the space he had scouted out for his uncle's restaurant, he was just glad to be making people happy, especially since Ştefan told him he knew Sebastian's father would be so proud of him. He barely remembered his biological father, but sometimes there would be murky memories, which made Sebastian feel as if he were gazing into a mirror. He knew he must've looked just like his father, since he and Ştefan were identical twins. In a way, it felt like he could spend time with his father when he spent time with Ştefan.

            Sebastian's mother had told him stories about his dad when he was growing up. He had always wanted to hear these stories from his uncle's perspective. Ştefan seemed more than willing to corroborate details. As the pair sat in the back of a cab, Sebastian explained that his mother had told him that there was one time while she was dating Sebastian's father, Sorin, and the brothers thought it would be funny to fool her by letting Ştefan take her on a date, just to see whether she would realize by the end of it that it wasn't her boyfriend. At the time, Sebastian's mother hadn’t known that Sorin had a twin, but as soon as Ştefan stepped out of Sorin's car to pick her up, she got closer, cocked her head to the side, looked at him hard, and said, "You're not Sorin."

            Somehow, despite most people having a hard time telling Sorin and Ştefan apart, Sebastian's mother just _knew_ right off the bat. Sebastian had absently rolled the cab's window down, letting out the AC, and explained to Ştefan that his mother said it was in the eyes; sure they were the same as Sorin's, but she said there was always something less bright about Ştefan's. Confirming this story with Ştefan led to genuine laughter. And Ştefan was still laughing by the time they stood in the midst of what would become Ştefan's new restaurant. Sebastian decided that it was odd his mother would say that, given that Sorin meant sun in Romanian, something you can never really look directly into, due to its bright glare.

            "Îți place, unchiule?" Sebastian had asked, smiling when he found the light switch. For a moment, he thought Ştefan might have a heart attack, turning slowly in circles at the large open space.

            "E cel mai bun," Ştefan exhaled before laughing anew, utter joy on his face.

Sebastian decided at that moment, knowing he had found Ştefan's new space, that he wasn’t going to tell Donya about it. He didn’t want her to worry about anything else, wonder how much money he was putting into this, the apartment he had promised her, and their wedding. He just wanted her to be happy. Sebastian figured that she would meet Ştefan soon enough, anyway, and by the time he married her, the restaurant would already be up and running, and she would be comfortable in her new apartment. He just felt amazing being able to do all of these things for the people he loved. It satisfied Sebastian in ways he wouldn't have been able to imagine at the start of his acting career.

            He felt like he was helping Ştefan for his father, as well. He felt some sense of duty towards his uncle. Family. It always meant more to Sebastian than almost anything else. He and Ştefan had sat at a dusty little table in the dark space for the rest of the afternoon. Ştefan kept asking all about Sebastian's career, and couldn't stop lovingly gazing at Sebastian's endless pictures of Sofia. Ştefan never had children of his own, and he had told Sebastian he owed it to being married to his work. His relationships were generally short-lived, and when they weren't, they slowly died. It was hard to keep a restaurant in business, and Ştefan had given his life to that. His brother Sorin had been his business partner until the end.

            When Sebastian asked Ştefan why he thinks Sorin and his mother got divorced, something Sebastian felt his mother didn't really like discussing, Ştefan had gotten almost avoidant on the topic. He had fidgeted with his hands, and explained that there were just a lot of business dealings that kept Sorin out working late, that he never pestered his brother about his marriage, but he explained that Sebastian's mother didn't like that Sorin had started coming home so late.

            The stress of running their restaurant had changed Sorin, and probably affected his marriage in difficult ways. Ştefan told Sebastian that it was simply stress of trying to keep their business afloat that gave Sorin that life-ending aneurysm. Sebastian had cocked his head to the side with interest upon that matter; whenever he asked his mother how Sorin died, she said it was "of natural causes," and never really wanted to go into detail about it. Sebastian never pressed her too hard about the causes, having assumed that she just didn't want to relive it.

            "It was a different time," Ştefan had said, speaking English for the first time since meeting up with Sebastian that day. Sebastian decided to lay off the topic, as not to detract from the positive wave he had been riding since showing his uncle the space. He wrote himself a mental note to ask more about his father another time. He tried to imagine how Ştefan felt ever since Sorin died. Sebastian was an only child (having many male cousins didn't make him feel that way), but he had always assumed there must have been a sort of void that Ştefan could not fill since Sorin's death. According to Sebastian's mother, the brothers used to be inseparable.

            Sebastian had the biggest smile on his face after dropping his uncle off at his mother's, where Ştefan would be staying until the apartment above the new restaurant was ready for him to move into. Sebastian hailed a cab and went straight to his apartment, where he knew Donya was probably waiting up for him. When he got there, he had to calm himself down, pacing in the hallway a few minutes before letting himself in. He wasn't going to tell Donya anything just yet. He wanted it to all be a surprise.

            "Did you find it yet?" Donya had asked. She was half asleep on the couch in pajama pants and a tank top. As he tucked his key into his back pocket, Sebastian had wondered how it was possible that his fiancée had gotten even _more_ beautiful since the last time he had seen her that morning. He knew she was talking about the new apartment he wanted to get for her. He sat at the bottom of the couch, pulled Donya's feet into his lap with a grin, and told her that he hadn't found her new place just yet. This was going to be his combined wedding and birthday gift to Donya, so he couldn't settle on just _any_ apartment. It had to be perfect.

            "Nothing is perfect, Sebastian," Donya said. She had sat up and yawned, looking like it was hard to keep her bright eyes open.

            "I know for sure one thing that is," Sebastian said.

            "Yeah? What's that?"

            "You."

There were always fireworks when Sebastian kissed her. He had won the lottery at life, in his honest opinion. There was so much hell he had been through in relationships with women, but Donya was the one. Sebastian had known after their very first date that he wanted to marry Donya. It had been a struggle initially, since it had been so hard for him to even _get to_ a first date with Donya. At first, she hadn't wanted anything to do with him, and the fact that he had her at last made Sebastian feel as though he was constantly dreaming.

            He had come home to his apartment that night walking on air. Sofia, one of his most prized possessions, slept through the night in her bassinet while he carried Donya away to bed. He had laid there reminiscing, holding onto her, inhaling the sweet scent of her hair and skin. He was glad that Donya moved in with him before the baby arrived. It all happened rather quickly, their entire relationship. Donya had been working as an editor for Cosmopolitan, and he had met her at a party. It was one of those things Sebastian never really liked going to, but he had been single at the time and his good friend, Denny, was trying to throw him back into the game, because apparently, Sebastian had become a real downer to hang around with.

            Denny thought that getting some female attention would cheer Sebastian up. But women had always _thrown_ themselves at Sebastian, even more violently when his career began to blossom, and he never went for the women who did that, because they were generally just taken with his appearance and couldn't have cared less to get to know him.

            It hadn't been very long since he had broken up with Margarita. Though the split had been mutual, and he understood why, Sebastian didn't really want it to end. And he didn't think that getting on top of another woman would help him to get over Margarita. In truth, it had been a few months, but he still didn't think he could ever love another woman again. He was sure he couldn't even care to so much as _look_ at another woman, until Donya walked into the room. There was a lot of noise and karaoke going on before she took over the microphone. She had walked onto the stage and read her own anecdote sort of thing.

            Something about Donya really caught Sebastian by the heart instantly. It wasn't just that she was beautiful as fuck, it was because of what she was saying. She was talking about love and relationships, the way that society was hypersexual, and everything she couldn't have put in a column had she written one for the magazine that she worked at because her boss always told her that it wouldn't sell and nobody would pay to read that. Onstage, Donya hadn't revealed who she worked for, having stated that she wouldn't be surprised if a co-worker was getting shitfaced in the crowd listening to her.

            She'd said a lot of things that made Sebastian laugh, things that were true that made him feel like she understood him, and he had put his drink down and really paid attention to her. By the time she walked off the stage, Sebastian was keeping his eye on her. He just wanted to talk to her and tell her how amazing her story was. When he approached her, however, she looked like she wanted to run away from him. She had been with a group of girlfriends, and they all gave him eyes that he knew meant they were mentally sucking him off, and she was the only one he could focus on.

            He had started introducing himself when she interrupted him and said she knew who he was, she'd seen the Marvel movies. She actually smiled when he offered his hand for her to shake. When he commented on a particular line from her anecdote and told her he thought it was well-written, she looked down and then towards her friends, who sort of laughed and started to make their way away from her. At that point, she looked desperate, like she didn't want to be left alone with him. Sebastian remembered telling her how beautiful he thought her name was. He wasn't drunk, but the few Heinekens he'd had gave him a bit of liquid courage.

            Donya had scratched the back of her neck anxiously when he asked her what magazine she worked for. And just like that, she told him, to his surprise. She had made such a point onstage about not revealing that fact to anyone there, lest she lose her job; she had criticized her boss and a couple of writers pretty harshly. She seemed to calm down when he assured her that her secret was safe with him. Sebastian had made the mistake of asking Donya whether she came to that club often, and she told him off, stating she wasn't looking for some playboy and didn’t pick men up to take home for one-night-stands. She told him that with his looks and fame, she was certain he did that sort of thing frequently, but that she wasn't a fish for him to reel in just because he thought she might have low self-esteem.

            Sebastian had stood there feeling utterly stupid when she walked away from him to go and find her friends. It wasn't until Denny rolled his eyes when Sebastian wouldn't stop talking about the details of Donya's story that he told him he'd wheedle a number out of her. It was Denny's stunt to do that sort of thing for his friends. Being stereotypically flamboyantly gay made Denny far less dangerous in Donya's eyes, and before Sebastian knew it, he was watching Denny win her over from across the room. If he hadn't known any better, he would have said Denny looked like the gay best friend Donya had since high school.

            When Sebastian and Denny walked outside at 1AM, Denny was already texting Donya's number to Sebastian, who just couldn’t stop smiling. Donya and her friends happened to be leaving at the same time, and Sebastian was still able to vividly recall his heart pounding fiercely when she met his eyes for a brief handful of seconds before ducking into a cab.

            It was funny to Sebastian that Donya had thought that was the last she'd see of him. Denny had even given Sebastian her address, and Sebastian looked at his friend like he was crazy. Denny merely shrugged in response and told him it was probably better not to show up at hers with a boombox and throw pebbles at her window, 'cause then Donya would probably really think he was a creep…Sebastian had laughed to himself on the inside with Donya's head heavy atop his bare chest. He just knew that he was going to make her so happy for years to come.

 

            As the weeks led up to the wedding, Sebastian had been spending a lot of energy hunting for Donya's apartment, fixing up the restaurant for his uncle, and preparing his vows. Shortly before he found the right place for Donya, his cousins started arriving in town for the wedding. They were also there to help run the restaurant with uncle Ştefan, and Sebastian had a good feeling about it all. He had finally been able to catch up with his cousin Alexandru, who was only a year older than him. Alexandru had moved back and forth between the US and Europe for most of his childhood, but decided to settle in New York when he married an American woman who worked in the city. Alexandru had always kept in touch with Sebastian. In many ways, Alexandru was like a brother to him.

            Alexandru was Sebastian's cousin on his mother's side, and had matching brown hair and eyes. He was roughly the same height as Sebastian, and easy to talk to, his personality smooth and welcoming. He could usually read Sebastian like an open book, something that made him such a good friend. He was the first cousin Sebastian had told about his wedding, and he had even come to visit him and Donya in the hospital when Sofia came along.

            The day before he was to show Donya the apartment he finally decided on, Sebastian spent time with his cousins at the restaurant. It was the start of training for all the new staff, and there had been fliers around the city, and many people in the Romanian community had applied for jobs as chefs, hostesses, and such. It was lunchtime and there were already cooks in the kitchen and some of Sebastian's cousins were serving as waiters. It was kind of a trial run to see how everyone worked together.

            Sebastian had found himself in the middle of conversations with all sorts of people he did not know, but everyone was speaking Romanian and glad to be there, and Sebastian had felt that he was among family. He had excused himself to get some wine for the one table acting as patrons that had requested a special bottle. He knew that there were a few kept in Ştefan's office, so he started there. He didn't bother to knock, assuming that Ştefan was in there, taking a moment to finish setting up his new office. Sure enough, the door was unlocked, but what Sebastian found on the other side surprised him.


	12. Chapter 12

            Leigh slapped a thick roll of cash into Alexandru's hand, shoving what Sebastian thought looked like a small brown bag into her Northface backpack. She didn't look up at first, but Sebastian recognized her immediately, although she looked much worse than he remembered her looking the last time he'd seen her. Alexandru looked like a kid who had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He looked at Sebastian with surprise, kicking shut a bottom drawer at the desk before asking Sebastian what he was doing.

            Upon hearing Sebastian's name, Leigh's head immediately whipped in Sebastian's direction, and she stared at him. He would have wanted to just back out of the room and act like he didn't see anything. Two things bothered Sebastian: one being the fact that he might have witnessed the sale of something illegal, and the second that his drug-addicted ex-girlfriend was standing just a few feet away. She had made it her life's mission, as far as Sebastian was concerned, to make his romantic life a living hell without her.

            For the longest time, before he met Donya, Sebastian had been sure that the fact that Leigh stalked Margarita was the _real_ reason that relationship had failed. Leigh was obsessed with him. She just wouldn't let it go. He had made it clear that he wanted nothing to do with her and told her to move on with her life. He had tried to help her, and when that wasn't working, Sebastian's only option was to sever ties completely. When Leigh threatened to kill herself if he left her, he had tried to get her help, but at the advice of his close friends and even his agent, he had come to the realization that Leigh was just abusive and it wasn't his responsibility to babysit her.

            When the drugs started, Leigh had become a completely different person than the one Sebastian had fallen in love with. She had started being careless, once nearly burning down Sebastian's apartment by leaving a lit blunt on the carpet where she fell asleep after shooting heroin while Sebastian was at the store. He was lucky to have saved her. It wasn't like they hadn't smoked weed a couple of times, but Leigh wanted to experiment, and she wanted to do it with things that Sebastian wasn't interested in. She was crazy, for the lack of a better word.

            His heart had stopped when Leigh stepped around the desk and stalked slowly towards him, as if she couldn't believe it was him. Alexandru had told him with irritation to shut the door, and Sebastian turned his back to do it. Before he could turn around, Leigh was already hugging him. Sebastian just stood there staring at the door, confused out of his mind. Alexandru had asked him what he was doing in the office, and when Sebastian explained that he was looking for a particular bottle of wine, he just couldn't stomach the feeling of Leigh clinging to him. He started to pry her hands off him, asking her what she was doing there, why she was handing his cousin all that cash. She had turned to look at Alexandru instead of answering the question.

            Sebastian had asked Alexandru what they were doing in the office; it was just Ştefan and himself who even had the keys for that room. Alexandru looked like he didn't want to say anything. Instead, he focused on Leigh who was again babbling to Sebastian in Romanian, telling him how much she missed him, that she had no idea he'd be there, etc. Sebastian didn't know what to say after that, and Alexandru just started insisting that she leave, grabbing Leigh by the arm and opening the door. She started trying to turn back and Alexandru wouldn't let her. He had practically dragged her away. Instead of trying to wrap his head around what just happened, Sebastian found the wine he was looking for and returned to the tables, but not before locking Ştefan's office door and making sure it was inaccessible to anyone without a key.

            He hadn't gotten a chance to talk with Alexandru about it, as Alexandru kept himself busy talking to uncle Ştefan and the other staff. Just when Sebastian thought he might have a moment to corner his cousin, his phone rang. It was the realtor who had promised to give him dibs on the apartment he was going to show Donya. Unable to ignore the call, Sebastian stepped out of the way and started towards the office to take it. He had sworn to put down the deposit as soon as Donya said yes to the apartment, and he promised the realtor the deal would be sealed the following day. He knew she would love it. He knew her taste.

            When the phone call ended, Sebastian thought to look in the desk drawer to find out what Alexandru had put away there, but when he stepped towards it to open it, Ştefan came in, looking a bit confused to have found the door ajar, but he relaxed when he recognized his nephew standing in there. He had smiled at Sebastian and asked him whether he had found the wine a friend was asking for. Sebastian had nodded, and without being able to contain his curiosity, asked Ştefan why Alexandru had been in the office earlier. Sebastian was sure there were only two copies of that particular key; one for himself as co-owner, and one for Ştefan.

            Ştefan explained that he had given the key to Alexandru to fetch wine, but Sebastian had a feeling that this wasn't the reason. He watched his uncle step around the desk and pull the top drawer open, in which there was a small, leather bound notebook.

            "Rețete," Ştefan had said with a grin. As he closed the drawer, he went on to explain that it contained some of his mother's old dessert recipes. He had patted Sebastian's shoulder and told him to come to the kitchen and learn a thing or two about Romanian cooking. Sebastian had wanted to just tell his uncle that he thought he might have seen some sort of exchange between his cousin and a patron that might not have been appropriate. But Leigh was long gone, and Sebastian wasn't sure that Alexandru would have come clean about the wad of cash she handed him. Sebastian had only thought the money must have been for drugs because he _knew_ Leigh. What else would it have been for?

            As Ştefan introduced Sebastian to one of the chefs he hired, he had this feeling that it was just some sort of distraction tactic. Ştefan must have known something. He wouldn't have just given his office key to Alexandru for no real reason. It was supposed to be a private room. Sure, Alexandru was also Ştefan's nephew, but he didn't help to redesign the place, put any money into it. Sebastian wondered if maybe he was just over thinking things and being a fathead. But he knew what he saw, and it looked like something he would have hoped Ştefan knew nothing about.

            Alexandru was gone by the time Sebastian made it out of the kitchen. He thought about calling him, but this was something Sebastian would rather have addressed to his cousin's face. He hoped that Alexandru didn't plan on getting involved with Leigh in any capacity, as he was a married man in the first place, and Leigh's personality, when paired with drugs, was toxic. Sebastian had sworn to himself that he was only looking out for his cousin. He never got the chance to see what was in that bottom drawer, where Alexandru hid something. Sebastian made it a point that he would come back another day and look again for himself.

 

            When he showed Donya the apartment, he knew from the moment they walked in together that she was sold on it. Carrying his daughter into the room, he knew he could see the three of them living there comfortably. It was bigger than Sebastian's own apartment, and he knew it was probably the most outrageous gift Donya would ever receive. It was enough to distract him for a little bit from the thought of bumping into his ex the previous day. He had spent that whole evening helping Donya move in. He and Denny made a great team in the process. Donya had ended up leaving some of her things in the apartment she had previously shared with her roommates before moving into Sebastian's apartment.

            They had not yet found a new roommate, and hadn't minded keeping her stuff around. That was one of the few things Sebastian had never been able to stand about women; they could fit more clothes into one closet than he understood to be physically possible. But he didn't complain about it once, and kept telling Donya to focus on playing with Sofia during the whole process. He didn't want her to lift a finger. And Denny didn't seem to mind, because the whole time, he was busy going through suitcases, complaining to Donya that this skirt and that pair of shoes were _so_ last season and he'd have killed her if she dared to walk outside the apartment dressed in them.

            By the time everything was moved in, Donya was asleep on the couch with Sofia napping on her chest. Sebastian had thanked Denny, and struggled to get his friend to take the money he said he'd pay if he helped with everything. Eventually, Denny took the cash and told Sebastian to call if they wanted help preparing for Donya's birthday party in the next two days. Sebastian had sat on the couch opposite Donya and just watched the mother and daughter dream. It wasn't until Donya woke up that he even moved. She had smiled at him tiredly before whispering that her shirt was soaked through with drool.

            Sebastian had ever so gently picked the baby up and put her back in the seat they usually carried her around in. He led Donya to her new bedroom and left the door open so they'd be able to hear if Sofia woke. As Donya changed, he started asking her about her party, which would be hosted in the new home. He asked Donya what she wanted, and she couldn't say much as she continued to gawk at the room and adjoining bathroom. It was like she couldn't believe this is where she would be living. It made Sebastian smile nonstop. He figured he would have to do much more of the planning until the shock wore off.

            The night of Donya's party, Sebastian had thought everything was going well, until he had gotten carried away with Donya and she kicked him out of her bedroom. Things got worse when Ştefan approached him by the kitchen to ask him about a woman named Leigh. At that point, he knew that Ştefan must have known something about the exchange between her and Alexandru at the restaurant a few days prior. Alexandru hadn't been at the party, even though Sebastian had invited him. Ştefan had told him they would meet with him later and go out to do something fun for Sebastian's last night as a bachelor. What that something was, Sebastian had no clue yet.

            Before he left and Donya's phone rang mid-conversation, things got even _worse_. When Sebastian listened for a second, he was immediately able to recognize Leigh's voice. Donya had thought it was just someone playing a prank on her or something. He had angrily told Leigh not to call again, and blocked her number. He hadn't been sure how Leigh even managed to _get_ Donya's number, but she knew that Sebastian was going to get married. Somebody had to have told Leigh that. He hadn't even told his agent about the short engagement; he didn't want there to be a spotlight all over it.

            After hearing Leigh's voice and finding out that she had been calling his fiancée, Sebastian was furious. He suddenly couldn't wait to leave so that he could figure out exactly what had been going on with Leigh and Alexandru. He knew he had to warn Alexandru to steer clear of Leigh. She was poison. Sebastian still hadn't been able to put it out of his mind what was going on between them the other day in Ştefan's office. He had a feeling he would have been able to get to the bottom of it that same night. It bothered him also because it was the last thing he wanted to deal with the night before one of the most important days of his life.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know what? I don't give a hoot if it's too long. It has to be in order for me to get to the piece that explains exactly how Sebastian ends up in jail. I was wrong, it wasn't going to take just 2 more chapters.

In the elevator, Sebastian asked Ştefan where they were headed. Ştefan had merely smiled at him.

            "E o surpriza," he'd said, but they had to stop by the restaurant first. Sebastian had spent the whole cab ride there being anxious, sandwiched between two of his younger cousins, who kept shoving his shoulders and telling him he was going to enjoy the night big time. He had told them repeatedly that they better not have been driving him to a strip club, because he only had eyes for Donya. This had made Ştefan laugh heartily, perhaps harder than Sebastian had ever seen his uncle laugh.

            There was this terrible sinking feeling in the pit of Sebastian's stomach when he stepped through the doors into the cool, dimly lit restaurant. All he wanted to do was find Alexandru and talk to him. But before he could look for his cousin, someone covered his eyes and led him somewhere. He recognized the voice of his cousin, Ana.

            "Ce este asta?" Sebastian asked with a small smile. Ana told him to sit down, and when she uncovered his eyes, there was a gigantic bottle of ţuică on the table before him, as well as a large plate of mititei, behind which sat a plate with one comically large papanași with a huge sparkler stuck inside it. Sebastian's first reaction was to smile and laugh. He could already taste the mititei; the meat's aroma wafted into his nostrils and caused him to salivate.

            He smiled down into the plate. The mititei looked and smelled _just_ like the one his mother always made. It was Sebastian's absolute favorite dish. He was pleasantly surprised when his mother started towards the table, wiping her hands on an apron. He had stood to greet her with open arms, and she kissed his cheek, congratulating him again, telling him how much she loved him.

            "We were sad for you that once married, you will never get to eat your favorites at home," Ştefan explained, walking out of what seemed like thin air with his arms crossed, "It's too bad your fiancée isn't Romanian. She will _never_ cook this good." At this, Sebastian just smiled, but inside, it had felt to him that his uncle was trying to insult Donya. Sebastian had let it slide, and his mother threw her head back cackling.

            "She's a sweet girl. I can teach her," she said, nodding to Sebastian. She sat with him and poured him a small glass of ţuică before helping herself to one.

            "Te iubesc, mama—noroc," Sebastian had said. She nodded back to him. He took a sip, and then stared across the table at his mother with widened eyes.

            "Unde este Sofia?" If she was here at the restaurant, that meant she wasn't with the baby at her own place.

            "În bucătărie," she had explained hastily, and added that she was playing with his step-dad in a high-chair, that she was perfectly fine. Sebastian had relaxed and took a bite of the best mititei he'd ever had. He had to close his eyes and memorize the taste. He knew his mother would always make it for him if he asked. What Ştefan had said about Donya never being able to make it began to settle in Sebastian's mind. He reasoned that he would still love Donya, whether she could cook mititei or not; if he wanted it, his mother's house and the restaurant were always just a drive away.

            Sebastian paused to pull the sparkler out of the papanași and dunk it into a tall glass of water to put it out. Ştefan and the cousins had disappeared and left him to conversate with his mother. He had offered her some of the food, but she shook her head vehemently and smiled, pushing the plate of mititei back towards him. It was just for him, his wedding present. She had started to cry, despite the smile that remained plastered on her face. It made Sebastian's own eyes water. She kept telling him how handsome he was, how far he had come, and how proud of him she was. He had begged her not to make him cry, too, telling her she'd always be his mother.

            She assured him that someday before she passed, she would make sure that Donya knew how to cook mititei and sarmale, his favorites. Sebastian smiled and had to wipe his own eyes. He hated to think that one day, his mother would no longer be there. She told him that she was proud of him again, especially for all that he had given in helping Ştefan start up the restaurant. She even said she would most likely retire and take a part time position as a head chef; Ştefan had offered it to her, stating that he never knew a woman who could cook mititei half as well as she did.

            By the time Sebastian finished eating (he couldn't possibly finish the papanași himself and decided he would have it wrapped up and sent to Donya), his step-dad came out and greeted him, carrying Sofia. Sebastian held his daughter and kissed her before giving her back to his mother. She and his step-dad left, stating that they were excited for the wedding the following day. At that time, Alexandru finally made an appearance. He had a big smile on his face and asked Sebastian whether he was ready for the other half of his surprise. But before Sebastian could say anything to him, Ştefan stood beside Alexandru and asked to have a word with the two of them.

            Sebastian carried the heavy bottle of ţuică into Ştefan's office. He told Ştefan he wanted to leave it there for the time being, that he didn't want to bring it home around Donya, because she was still breastfeeding their daughter. Ştefan had smiled and promised Sebastian he would keep it safe for him. Before he sat down at his desk, he hid the large bottle behind a cabinet that was also kept under lock and key. Alexandru had sauntered over to the window to stare out where it had become dark.

            "Alex…la loc (sit down)," Ştefan had said calmly. But Alexandru just sighed and kept staring out the window. Sebastian cocked a brow, and then he wondered whether Ştefan was going to finally chastise Alexandru for messing around in his office. After Ştefan stared at Alexandru for a handful of seconds, he turned to Sebastian. Ştefan grinned, and pulled open the bottom drawer behind his desk. Sebastian's heart skipped a beat, but his uncle smiled, gradually placing three guns on the desktop. Sebastian sat up straight in his chair. Alexandru laughed, and Sebastian's head shot in his cousin's direction.

            "Are you trying to scare him?" Alexandru asked, crossing his arms and looking rather amused. For a moment, Sebastian had forgotten that Ştefan had been in the army back at home. Perhaps he had license to have these guns. It wasn't like he was some sort of criminal…was it? Ştefan just about rolled his eyes at Alexandru before turning back to Sebastian.

            "Pistol range," Ştefan had said, looking Sebastian square in the eyes, "That is the second half of your surprise."

Sebastian looked to his cousin and smiled, having relaxed.

            "And I felt that…I owed it to you to tell you more about your father," Ştefan added. At this, Sebastian's interest had been piqued.

            "One day, Sorin started bringing in so much money for our business, to support it," Ştefan explained, his expression not so jolly then. Alexandru sighed, almost as if he didn't want to hear this story. Sebastian figured he must have heard it before. Alexandru started towards the desk, picking up a type of carrying case. He loaded the guns into the case as Ştefan told Sebastian that years ago, shortly before Sorin and his mother divorced, Sorin's personality had changed. As far as he knew, there was very little communication between the two once they divorced, except over Sebastian. Being divorced never changed the fact that Sorin wanted to provide for his son.

            Sorin had been doing carpentry fulltime, until Ştefan had convinced him to start working on developing the restaurant together. He had found it to be his passion, too, more so than the mundane job he had always worked to try and support Sebastian and his mother. Ştefan told Sebastian that he had to figure it out himself where all the money was coming from, because when he did the calculations for their fledgling restaurant, the numbers weren't adding up. Eventually, Ştefan figured that Sorin must have been pulling in from the carpentry that he still did on the side. But Ştefan also explained that if he was putting money towards caring for a family, with that kind of job, the numbers _still_ didn't add up.

            Ştefan said he had asked Sorin about it, but he would always just brush it off, saying the money was coming from his carpentry job. It wasn't until Ştefan caught Sorin dealing behind the small building they were working out of that he found out where the cash was really coming from. At first, he had been shocked and completely against the idea, but when Sorin pleaded with him to realize the potential of making all that extra money, Ştefan had kept quiet about it and soon, the restaurant was beginning to get more customers. They had started to be able to afford renovations to attract people, and Ştefan started sleeping better at night when he realized they would soon break even.

            Despite it being in a less than ceremonious way, Sorin saved Ştefan. The restaurant was his dream, something that Ştefan was determined to keep going in honor of their father, who had been a popular chef himself. But despite all the success they were having, Ştefan had noticed a change in his brother's personality, and for the worse. Sorin had become more short-tempered and impatient, and shortly after Ştefan picked up on his brother's demeanor, Sorin and Sebastian's mother divorced.

            "I think he got worse after that," Ştefan explained, resting his elbows on the desktop, "It was stressful running a restaurant, even with my help. But losing your mother…that broke him. The revolution was on its way, too. Sorin told me that your mother said she was going to take full custody of you and leave the country. I think it angered my brother. You were Romanian-born, he wanted his family home…She was right to leave, but I know that my brother did not want to lose his son. Especially not when business had _just_ begun to boom for us." Sebastian barely noticed Alexandru's presence at that point. He was totally engulfed in his uncle's story. When Ştefan explained that he figured out Sorin had started to do some of the drugs instead of just selling them, it was too late.

            "We knew we could not stay. That meant what we had built from the ground up, was going back into the dirt. Believe me…that broke my heart _almost_ as much as my brother's death. Sorin and I were trying to take everything we could at the time. The plan was to follow you and your mother to Austria. There were protestors in the street. It was getting dangerous at that point. That was the same week your mother left with you…There were police outside, people rioting, gunshots. It almost masked the sound of a single shot that I _knew_ I heard come from inside the building. I went to back office, I found Sorin in the corner with a pistol…" A solitary tear left Ştefan's eye.

            "He didn't _want_ to leave. We had even named the restaurant after your grandfather. He had _always_ wanted his own, and never got to live this dream. I had to beg him to—we couldn't keep open during the revolution, and I think he knew this, just didn't want to believe it." Sebastian wiped his eyes, and Alexandru's hand on his shoulder startled him a moment.

            "Please," Ştefan said, "No alarm." Ştefan reached into the drawer again and pulled out a mason jar of what Sebastian immediately identified as marijuana. He stared at it for several seconds. Ştefan went on to remind him that it had been Sorin's idea to sell it all those years ago. If he hadn't done it, their business would not have been kept afloat. Leigh's appearance in that office suddenly made perfect sense in Sebastian's mind. He found himself staring between Alexandru and his uncle, as if they had suddenly become perfect strangers. Sebastian didn't have a huge problem with marijuana; he had smoked it himself a number of times, and figured there were much worse things to be doing.

            It just bothered him that his uncle apparently still sold it. In Romania, it was illegal. In New York, it was legal to carry up to a few ounces on one's person. But he still didn't think it was a coincidence that Leigh happened to be buying from _his_ cousin. She had to have figured it out that Alexandru was practically Sebastian's brother. She just wanted to nudge her way back into Sebastian's life. At the thought of this, he had clenched his fists, but tried not to let the anger show too much.

            "My mother always told me it was an aneurysm," Sebastian stated, no longer caring about the jar of marijuana that sat on the desk. Ştefan sighed.

            "I think she found out what he was doing. It wasn't very honorable, and this is why, I think, she did not tell you the truth. How does a mother tell her son that his father took his own life? It was not just you that he left, Sebastian," Ştefan explained, "And I only do this now because it was the reason my brother made any of this possible." Instead of bothering to tell Ştefan that he didn't have to do this anymore, Sebastian found himself trying to just process it all. It made Sebastian feel angry that his father took his own life. He _did_ leave him. And suddenly, Sebastian felt himself overcome with rage. Ştefan apologized for having told him such dark details the night before the happiest day of his life.

            Sebastian had looked his uncle in the eyes and thanked him instead for telling him what happened. Ştefan begged him not to find fault with his mother, she was just trying to preserve Sorin's memory positively. Having said that, Sebastian knew he couldn't blame her. Instead, he just felt angry with Sorin for taking himself out of the equation. As they drove to a shooting range, Sebastian's blood was boiling. It started to cool down after he shot a number of rounds. He had never shot a real gun before; they were always just props when he was filming the Captain America movies. The experience exhilarated him.

            On the down low, Alexandru handed him a flask in which Sebastian could smell the ţuică he had drank a small glass of earlier, he took a big swig, figuring, fuck it, it was his last night partying irresponsibly before he would become a dutiful husband. He was starting to laugh a lot, and by the time he and his cousins squished into a cab, he thought he should slow down. But he thought again about what his father so selfishly did and took another swig. When the cab stopped at the restaurant instead of Sebastian's apartment, he stepped out in confusion, asking Alexandru what they were doing there.

            Alexandru had walked around the back of the restaurant, which was then locked down and empty. Sebastian followed his two younger cousins, who tagged after Alexandru. Alexandru kept telling them to hurry up, that he had to take Sebastian back to his apartment so he could sleep and not look like shit at his wedding the next day. Alexandru had said he just had to make a pit stop along the way. Sebastian had started to get a little bit drunk, but he wasn't so far gone that he couldn't remember the details.

            Alexandru was driving and stopped in front of a house Sebastian had never seen before. Sebastian had handed the flask to his two cousins, who were singing loudly like idiots in the back seat; he knew he would wake up with a hangover if he didn't put the alcohol down. Alexandru kept telling Sebastian to stay in the car, after he had walked to the trunk, opened it, and took something out. But Sebastian had grabbed the keys jokingly and threatened to crash his cousin's car into a light post. He had explained to Alexandru that he never should have sold marijuana to Leigh. He told Alexandru that Leigh was crazy, and his ex-girlfriend.

            Alexandru told him that she was a loyal, paying customer, and that it was worth it. Especially if Sebastian wasn't going to be the one to do the dealing, then it shouldn't have bothered him. But as Sebastian followed Alexandru to the house, he realized that that's exactly what Alexandru was going to do. Leigh had answered the door looking ghostly. When she saw Sebastian, she tried to hug him. He kept pushing her away gently, and when she slapped him, Alexandru intercepted her. He told her that if she wanted to continue getting her drugs from him, she would have to stop. He had added that Sebastian was getting married and would never love her again.

            Leigh had looked angrily into the night before agreeing that she would leave Sebastian alone, but only if Alexandru gave her a discount. He had to haggle with her a little bit, but eventually, they settled on a lower price than Alexandru had intended. At some point, Sebastian found himself standing in the hall. Leigh had gone to get her money and Alexandru was standing in the dining room at a table in the dark. When Sebastian tried to turn on the light, Alexandru started yelling at him and telling him to go back to the car. It was as if he was trying to block Sebastian's view, but he caught a glimpse of a white powder on the mahogany table.

            When Leigh came down to find the two men arguing, she had told them to give her the drugs and get out. She was already holding a needle when Sebastian turned to look at her. She shoved cash against Alexandru's chest, and Alexandru grabbed it and yanked Sebastian out of the house, slamming the door shut afterwards. Sebastian had thought it was just going to be weed, but what he saw had made him furious. It wasn't because he still cared for Leigh—she was the _least_ of his worries. Alexandru was furious with Sebastian for following him to the door in the first place and resulting in him having had to reduce the price so that Leigh would back off.

            Sebastian had been silent on that drive home, unable to look Alexandru in the eyes. His heart was pounding as they drove away. Before he stepped out of Alexandru's car, he asked him whether Ştefan knew about the heroin. Alexandru had told him that their uncle didn't _need_ to know, and that Sebastian was better keeping his mind off of that. He promised Sebastian that Leigh was just one of a few customers he was selling that to, and that he wouldn't do it for very long.

            It made Sebastian uneasy to think that Alexandru was lying to him about something, but as he had stuck his keys into the lock of his apartment door, he wondered if Alexandru was lying and Ştefan _knew_ about the heroin; he had kept the fact that he was even dealing drugs away from Sebastian. He probably wouldn't have mentioned it if Sebastian had not walked in on his cousin selling in the first place. All of that made it hard to sleep. But he just knew that he had to; Donya would never have forgiven him for looking like a zombie on their wedding day.


	14. Chapter 14

            It had been hard to wipe out the events of the previous night on the day of his wedding. Sebastian had still been beside himself about the truths Ştefan had revealed to him several hours earlier. He wanted to talk to somebody about it, but he didn't want to burden his wife. Despite his anger, he was happy to finally call Donya that. He was furious with Sorin for having abandoned him the way he had. It made Sebastian feel determined _never_ to be anything less than the perfect father for Sofia. He didn't like watching Donya's friend Rob walk her down the aisle; it should have been her own father. But he had died before she ever had the chance to ask him to do it.

            Donya's father was an alcoholic. His liver had given up on him, and that's how he died. In a way, Donya's father had intentionally abandoned his child, too. Sebastian couldn’t get over it. He didn’t realize that she was thinking he just didn't like Rob. Almost every male at Sebastian's wedding turned into Sorin that day. Sebastian couldn't help it.

            A few minutes before the wedding ended, Sebastian excused himself to the restroom only to find a myriad of messages in Instagram from some unidentified account. He literally had over a million followers, most of which were fans who he didn't mind. It wasn't unusual for him to get messages from them, and occasionally, he'd respond, knowing it might make their day if he said something nice. But it didn't take him long to realize that this angry string of messages had come from Leigh. It wasn't the first time she had tried to contact him, and she had a habit of doing it while she was high. A while ago, she had managed to get his new number and call him (he had changed it while he was still dating Margarita for the sole purpose of Leigh not being able to contact him anymore).

            He had simply ignored the calls and erased the voicemails without listening to them. He hadn't wanted to have to change his number a _second_ time; he wasn't going to allow Leigh to control his life to that extent. He eventually blocked the number, but she still found ways to contact him. It was always some new account she was creating, pestering him. What was worse was how normal she had behaved at first when she saw him the previous night. Sebastian was ready to punch through a wall at that point. He had paced back and forth a bit, splashed some cold water on his face, and taken a couple of deep breaths before he returned to say goodbye to the guests.

            He had taken his mind off of his father's death and his insane ex-girlfriend by gawking at his new wife, clutching his daughter, and smiling at all of his friends, thinking about how nice it was going to be in Greece. It was all just a lot to take in. Though he was still mentally jumping for joy when the plane landed, his body had been too physically exhausted to actually do so. But he used the last of his energy by making Donya wait outside of their hotel room while he placed a sleeping Sofia inside so that he could carry her through the door in her wedding dress. Donya had laughed, wrapped her arms around his neck, and told him she loved him. He had slept deeply as soon as he and Donya reached their destination: a king size mattress with silk sheets in a luxurious hotel by the water.

            Sebastian had woken up before Donya did, to find that she was still wearing her wedding dress, and had only washed her face and crashed down beside him. He had been the first to hear Sofia crying, and immediately went to pick her up and pull open the mini fridge to find a bottle that Donya had pumped her milk into before calling it a night. The baby had immediately calmed down. Sebastian went out and sat on the little balcony they had, talking to Sofia. He was burping her and walking back into the hotel room when he picked his phone up off the coffee table where it was charging.

            It irritated him to find a myriad of messages _again_ , from a different account, all coming from Leigh. She had just been spewing nonsense. But when he bothered to read a few of her drug-addled words, he had found that she was threatening Donya, and threatening to tell her he was some kind of drug dealer, and that was the straw that had broken the camel's back. Leigh had sent pictures of Donya around New York, photos from when Donya was pregnant, out and about by herself. When Sebastian realized that these pictures weren't just from places like gossip sites, with photographers that actually worked for the tabloids, he nearly had a panic attack.

            Leigh had been watching his life a lot more closely than he had realized. Sebastian's hand was trembling when he placed his phone on the table to put Sofia in the play pen they had requested for their hotel room. She was watching him, chewing her little fingers, completely innocent and unknowing of the madness Sebastian was experiencing. He took screenshots of the messages where Leigh had threatened Donya. He figured the first thing he should have done was filed some kind of police report. Sebastian was going to forward the screenshots to his agent when he thought about Alexandru.

            He hadn't quite thought that his cousin really _understood_ the gravity of Leigh's craziness. Sebastian wanted his cousin to know exactly what kind of person he had considered one of his most prized customers. He had a feeling it would have made Alexandru cut Leigh off entirely. That would have been payback at her in Sebastian's eyes. As Sebastian forwarded the screenshots to Alexandru, he thought about the sensation of the Glock he'd shot in the previous time zone, which felt like mere moments ago, firing under his braced fingers.

            He was starting to have dangerous thoughts. He texted Alexandru and told him that he would tell Ştefan about the heroin he was selling if he didn't stop selling to Leigh. He told him he would go to the police concerning Leigh's threats. It didn't take long for Alexandru to get the message. He had told Sebastian that Leigh was waiting outside of the restaurant as soon as he left the wedding, that she wouldn't stop asking about Sebastian, and the woman was starting to get on his nerves. Alexandru admitted that Sebastian had been right about her all along.

            After Sebastian took Donya and Sofia to lunch, Alexandru had called, and an argument ensued regarding the entire Leigh conundrum. Alexandru had agreed that these were serious things, the threats that Leigh had made against Donya, and the fact that she had been stalking Donya for some time was unnerving. Not even Donya knew. He had promised Sebastian that he would make her stop, but told him that he couldn't bring any of it to the police. If he did, there was no way it wouldn't end up implicating uncle Ştefan. Despite feeling conflicted about it, Sebastian warned Alexandru that he better have dealt with Leigh, that it was the last time he ever wanted to hear from her.

            At the time, Sebastian hadn't really thought that Alexandru would kill her. He was just so angry about finding out about his father that he hadn't really thought it all through. He felt badly for Ştefan, and if it had not been for him, Sebastian would have already taken Leigh's threats to the police. Alexandru said she had stood outside Ştefan's restaurant and would not shut up about Sebastian. They both knew that it was not a good sign, and Alexandru admitted that he had been able to coax Leigh away with the promise of more drugs if she left.

            Sebastian knew that Donya understood very little Romanian, though he had closed the door and tried not to sound so upset, keep his voice down. Alexandru promised him for the third time that he would take care of the problem before Sebastian finally hung up. He had been sitting in bed, waiting for Donya to come back to him, when Alexandru called and told him that Leigh wasn't going to bother him anymore. When he asked how that was possible, Alexandru sent Sebastian a photo of Leigh that he could only stomach to look at for a handful of seconds before placing his phone screen-down on the coffee table. The sound of the shower in the bathroom was replaced by his own pulse, beating in his ears. He wouldn’t look at the picture a second time until he got home.

 

            By the time Sebastian had come back to New York, he almost immediately had to go out of the country again to film a minor piece in a movie. He hated the idea of leaving Donya and Sofia so soon after the wedding, but it had already been a project he was set to do for a while. He had dropped by the restaurant to visit Ştefan just hours after he got back. He had told Donya he was just going to get his mail from his uncle, who he had asked to gather while he was away. It was at that point, in the solitude of Ştefan's office, that Alexandru revealed what he had done.

            He'd had to come clean to Ştefan about the heroin. Ştefan was furious. He had never sold anything that dangerous, and he'd thoroughly expressed his disappointment in Alexandru. But Alexandru conveniently left out the piece about Leigh's overdose. Sebastian assumed that Ştefan just wanted Sebastian there to make sure he knew how angry he was with his nephew for selling something so hard behind his back. Alexandru had tried to convince Ştefan that he was just doing it to give him the extra money, so that he could pay the restaurant's staff extra, give them even more incentive to be perfect before the grand opening, but Ştefan had cut him off. When Ştefan left the room, Alexandru blocked Sebastian's path.

            For a moment, he thought his cousin was going to try to fight him. Maybe Alexandru was jealous that Ştefan held Sebastian on a pedestal of some kind. Instead, Alexandru asked Sebastian whether he went to the police about Leigh. Sebastian explained that he was too jetlagged to want to discuss any further and told his cousin that he hadn't gone to the police, and he just wanted to go home and be with his wife and daughter before he had to leave again. It was on that cab ride back to the new apartment that Sebastian looked for the second time at that picture of Leigh.

            Alexandru said he had sold the rest of the heroin he had left to her (and he'd made it a point to scratch her name off the list that Ştefan kept in his office drawer of buyers who had paid for the month). She did it _all_ in one go, started acting insane and doing crazy things. Why Alexandru stuck around long enough to take that photo, Sebastian knew deep down. He decided that it was actually nobody's fault, and that it was a fate that would have eventually befallen Leigh. Still, he felt nauseous when he walked up to Donya's new apartment where she was already sleeping. Sebastian had crawled into bed behind her, pulled an arm around her, and tried to sleep Leigh out of his mind.

           

            Sebastian had spent his time in New Zealand battling his conscience to go to the police over Leigh. He wanted to, but at the same time, he _didn't_ feel badly for what had happened to her. She had made it clear that she had planned to hurt Donya and had been close to doing so a number of times. If he said anything to the police, Alexandru had been right, there would have been no way not to involve him or Ştefan. He couldn't exactly turn his back on family. That wasn't in Sebastian's nature. He figured his own father had already done it to him, and after learning how Sorin died, Sebastian was determined not to be anything like him.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the climax I was trying to work towards. Phew! And now there's one thing left that has to happen for it to end the way I envisioned. I know I'm not usually friendly in terms of giving the English translations wherever I write in another language (because it's easy to just copy it and go to Google), but I went back and corrected grammatical mistakes with the Romanian. Shout out to my new Tumblr friend, sebstantranslations! I couldn't have done it without you. ＼(￣▽￣)/
> 
> And what else was I going to say...? I forget...

            What landed Sebastian in jail was a stupid thing that shouldn't have happened. And it shouldn't have happened because Alexandru should not have lied. It was becoming increasingly difficult for Sebastian to get up every day and pretend like everything was fine. Many times, he wanted to just grab Donya by the waist and tell her everything he had to find out about his uncle's business the hard way. He had only wanted to help Ştefan, he never wanted anything to do with the other stuff. His uncle never asked him to sell drugs. He must have felt that after telling Sebastian about his father's situation, that he would not have been able to do it.

            Having felt the need to not know much more, Sebastian was unsure whether his cousin Ana knew anything about it, or the two younger ones who had sat in the back seat the night Alexandru delivered heroin at Leigh's. Somehow, he assumed they just knew. He began to wonder whether that made them bad people. He wasn't sure. He just had to keep going with the flow. The restaurant was open then, and there was nothing else he could have done about it. Business was extremely good, otherwise, and Sebastian told himself that it was _only_ because of the food and service. That's it.

            It wasn't until he caught Alexandru smoking in Ştefan's office around lunch one Saturday that Sebastian nearly lost his shit. He had pulled open the windows and snatched the blunt out of his cousin's fingers, stamped it out inside the waste basket. By then, Alexandru's eyes were plastered to the ceiling, chasing shooting stars that only he could see. Sebastian had asked his cousin what the _fuck_ he thought he was doing in a restaurant full of customers; he had been able to smell the smoke from the men's room when he excused himself from the table where Donya and Sofia were dining.

            His cousin had merely laughed, and he hadn't looked at Sebastian until he practically pulled him out of the chair and shoved him against the wall. Alexandru slid down it and started crying, something Sebastian had never seen him do. He sighed, and knelt there, and his cousin started rambling about his wife's boyfriend who he discovered in their bedroom earlier that day when she thought he'd be out working. It really messed him up. Sebastian had tried to put himself in Alexandru's shoes, and it tore him up inside to imagine Donya ever cheating on him. It had been Sebastian who suggested that they go out that night, just the two of them.

            Sebastian only wanted to cheer Alexandru up. So they did start going out regularly, usually to bars to drink, sometimes to the shooting range they had gone to the night before Sebastian's wedding. Sebastian found himself to be a good shot after some practice. It was a fun pastime to release some aggression, and they started to go regularly. On their way back a few weeks later, Alexandru was ecstatic when he told Sebastian that he was getting a divorce. Sebastian was just glad to see his cousin be happy. All Sebastian ever wanted to do was make people happy. He didn't realize at the time how much it was going to cost him.

            When Alexandru pulled up in front of what looked like a strip club instead of their uncle's restaurant, Sebastian had rolled his eyes and asked his cousin why he thought he should be going to a place like that. Just because he was getting divorced didn't mean he should have sought women he probably had no real business with, but when Alexandru reached for the glove compartment to pull out a small plastic baggie of weed, Sebastian rolled his eyes. Alexandru explained that the weed was for a customer, a Romanian girl he met at the restaurant who was paying her way through Fordham by waitressing and dancing. He was also selling to one of the bouncers who had been a customer for a while; it was just going to be an in and out thing.

            Sebastian had shook his head, but smiled nonetheless. He swore he caught a glimpse of his uncle's smallest handgun in the inside pocket of Alexandru's jacket. He'd told him to put it away, that they weren't going anywhere while carrying something that stupid, whether it was loaded or not. Alexandru had told him to relax, that he'd left the empty gun in his pocket from their stop at the shooting range, and they weren't going to be at the club for long. Against his better judgment, Sebastian let Alexandru get out of the car with it. Before Sebastian could fully step out of Alexandru's car, his phone had rung. Alexandru had paused and turned to look back at him. Donya was calling, and Sebastian wasn't going to ignore it, especially not after Alexandru rolled his eyes and told Sebastian that wives were a wasted effort.

            Sebastian wished he had just gone home to Donya. She had asked him where he was, but he didn't have the heart to tell her he was about to walk into a strip club. Not that Sebastian had intended to pay attention to any of the women in there, but it wasn't the kind of place he wanted his wife to know he was anywhere near. He had absently pulled the glove compartment open, telling Donya he would be home soon. He felt nervous about being there, which was probably why he started randomly organizing the glove compartment. He told Donya they were still out shooting.

            He had shook his head with irritation upon pulling out another clear baggie half full with marijuana, but when yet another bag, even less full, with white powder toppled out onto Sebastian's lap, his heart stopped. He had hastily finished up the phone call, staring at the drug with utter displeasure. He promised Donya he would be home soon, that he'd bring home papanași from the restaurant. When Donya hung up, Sebastian sighed and shoved the drugs back into the glove compartment. By the time he made it into the club, it took him a little while to find his cousin.

            Eventually, he found him getting a lap dance from a girl that could not have been older than nineteen. Sebastian had shoved his hands into his pockets and looked away when the girl took off her shiny bra, which only had slits that covered her nipples and made him think that she might as well have been topless to begin with. Alexandru was talking to her, totally mesmerized.

            "Ești superbă și ai un corp de milioane (You're really beautiful and have a perfect body)," Alexandru beamed, pausing in reaching for a breast. The dark haired girl looked Sebastian's way, and then stared at him. It became clear that she liked what she saw, and she danced distractedly on Alexandru, until he looked where she had been staring and rolled his eyes before he waved a hand in front of her face to get her attention back. He had sunk far down in his chair, looking like he really wanted to grab the hips that straddled him.

            "E doar văr-miu ăla _însurat_. Ignoră-l (It's just my _married_ cousin. Ignore him)," he had laughed. The girl smiled and shimmied in Alexandru's face. It became hard for Sebastian to watch, but he stood there and did just that. He had nearly forgotten why he walked in there feeling so angry until he remembered what he found in Alexandru's glove compartment. A light blow at the nape of Sebastian's neck caused him to jump and turn around. A large-breasted blonde with rather heavy makeup asked him if he wanted a lap dance, too. He had shook his head politely and flashed his ring finger in her face. In response, she asked him what the fuck he was doing in there, and walked away before he could answer.

            All he wanted to do at that point was leave. But he wasn't convinced that Alexandru was just selling marijuana. Finding the heroin reminded him of Leigh. Sebastian couldn’t stand the thought of allowing Alexandru to turn anyone into the likes of her by selling them that shit. The girl who bounced on his cousin's lap obviously understood all the dirty things he was saying to her in Romanian, and Sebastian did not feel the need to be introduced to Alexandru's customer. He just thought that the girl looked so young, and from the very little he knew about her, he didn't think she belonged in a place like that, whether she was paying her way through college or not.

            Sebastian eventually sat on a small couch not too far from the one where Alexandru was getting a hard on. He noticed then that his cousin's jacket hung over the back of the chair. He knew that if the weed wasn't still inside the jacket, a gun definitely was. He had looked around the scene suspiciously, just hoping nobody had figured out what his cousin was carrying. When the girl was done dancing, she pulled her bra thing back on and held out her hand with a smile on her face.

            "Ai terminat deja? (You're done already?)" Alexandru had asked with a frown. The girl laughed. She looked _so_ damn young that Sebastian was afraid at that point.

            "Puteți plăti pentru altul (You can pay for another)," she'd said, and she kept looking distractedly in Sebastian's direction. He had looked away, feeling guilty again to be in a place like that. The air was thick with unresolved sexual tension and sin. Sebastian just wanted to go home to Donya. Alexandru laughed and Sebastian looked up to find him cupping the girl's wrist, telling her it was a waste of time to try and tempt his cousin, who was still a newlywed. The girl reached for a small corset she had dropped on the floor long before Sebastian got there. She pulled it back on and Alexandru stood very close to her, after reaching into his jacket and pulling the baggie out so that his whole fist hid it from view.

            The girl casually tucked it into her cleavage before she stood on her tiptoes to whisper something in Alexandru's ear. Sebastian watched his cousin follow her. He tugged his cousin's collar and asked him whether they would leave then. He had already done what he came there to do. Alexandru just looked at Sebastian and hastily told him to wait another ten minutes. Sebastian could not believe how easy it was for Alexandru to forget there was a gun inside his jacket. Sebastian reached for it and started trying to find his way out of there. Instead, he just caught a glimpse of Alexandru handing something to another stripper by the bar before he walked off with the girl that gave him the lap dance.

             Sebastian wasn't sure whether his cousin had handed her marijuana or heroin. Instead of continuing to look for the exit, Sebastian followed her. He must have just looked like a bouncer in his black t-shirt and muscular stature, because nobody tried to stop him when he walked through the same doors the stripper had gone through. He had paused in the hall, wondering where she went. He just had to know exactly what Alexandru had given her, because he couldn't wipe Leigh out of his mind. Sebastian knew that if he had the power to stop it, he couldn't handle anything terrible happening to a girl who didn’t deserve it.

            He pushed open a door in time to find the stripper with a straw, a line drawn out across the vanity with bright lights that she sat in front of. She didn't even look up at him as she brought the straw to her nose.

            "Hey— _stop_ ," Sebastian said. She only paused long enough to glare up at him and tell him to close the fucking door. And Sebastian did. There was no one else in the room, and he was starting to panic. He could still see that photo of Leigh dead in her bathtub. Not even thinking about the consequences of his actions, Sebastian pulled the gun out of Alexandru's coat pocket.

            "I said don't do it," he barked, and because the stripper had no idea that he was merely acting, she took one look at the gun and screamed.

            "Put it back in the bag…and give it back," Sebastian breathed calmly. He knew the gun wasn't loaded, but this woman had no idea. Her hands were shaking and her eyes were wide. She had even fallen out of her chair. Sebastian had hoped that the music outside the room was loud enough that no one else noticed her scream.

            "O-okay…I already gave the other guy the money," the woman stammered, scared out of her mind.

            "I said, 'Put it back in the fucking bag and give it back,'" Sebastian snarled, inching closer to her. And she went for it, pushing the trash over just to recover the Ziploc bag. She started brushing the powder off the table and into the bag when the door opened and a loaded gun was pointed in Sebastian's direction. The out of uniform officer, who Sebastian had thought was just some guy at the bar, flashed his NYPD badge. When Sebastian realized that this was in fact a drug bust, and he had gotten himself in the middle of it, it was far too fucking late.

 

PRESENT DAY

            "I'm _sorry_ ," Sebastian says, and Donya starts when he wipes her eye with the back of his cold hand. She feels as if she's been standing here for a lifetime now. This story is unbelievable, but she finds herself believing him.

            "So, you just…so you just thought…you were going to go and save this random stripper's life by holding a _gun_ to her head? Sebastian…" At this point, Donya can’t process anymore.

            "I need to sit down," she says, barely above a whisper. Sebastian follows her. Instead of sitting in the chair on the other side of the metal table that is drilled into the floor, he kneels beside her. Donya closes her eyes and rests her elbows on the table, looking like she's praying, something Sebastian has never seen her do.

            "Look…I'm sorry about your father, and I'm sorry about your uncle, but this is…"

            "This _shouldn't be happening_ …This is a _mistake_ ," she says, not opening her eyes.

            "And you didn't say anything because you're worried what it will do to your _uncle_ , who _lied_ to you? He's the one who should be in here right now—or at least Alex! Sebastian—"

            "I know," he interrupts, not wanting to admit this.

            " _Not you_. You have a daughter to raise," she says, her voice rising. She looks at him now with wide eyes. She still looks like she doesn't believe him, but obviously she does.

            "What are we going to do? You still had something to do with…"

            "It was ruled a suicide and they closed the case—that's not why I'm in here," Sebastian promises her. But it still makes her queasy to think about. Sebastian knew all this time. Regardless, in some way, Donya doesn't feel so badly for what happened to Leigh, but neither she nor Sebastian will say out loud that the woman _deserved_ it. All Alexandru did was give her the drugs, and she _chose_ to do them, and Sebastian could tell that Alexandru wasn't lying about that.

            "You should have just come home," she says, staring at the wall. Sebastian wraps his arms around her and Donya closes her eyes, pulling his hands away.

            "I know, baby—"

            "You should have just _come home_ ," Donya repeats. The more she tries to free herself, the tighter Sebastian grips her, until he just pulls her clear out of the chair against him.

            "What are you gonna do?" he asks, but the question sounds like more of a demand.

She glares at him and shoves him, but he just holds on. He had a habit of doing that. She hated that it always made her calm down.

            "I know I fucked up," he says, his voice breaking.

            "Don't touch me," she snaps, her voice angry despite the sadness and fear written on her face.

            "I know, baby—I know. I'll fix this—"

            "How, Sebastian…? _How_?!"

He finally grips her face firmly in both hands, his eyes a type of wild that scares Donya. She clutches his wrists gently and her bottom lip trembles.

            "You just have to _trust_ me. Alright? You're right, this was a mistake. I'm gonna come home—I promise—"

            " _I don't even know you anymore_ ," Donya says vehemently. She pulls away from him so hard that she falls back against the chair. Sebastian deflates for a moment, staring at the stone floor.

            "Don't you believe me?" He asks. He sounds so broken now.

            "I just didn't want anyone to get _hurt_ again. I was trying to do the right thing! At first, I didn't know…and then I found out and I should have said something— _I know_!" he explains. When he looks to her again, she knows with every fiber of her being that he's telling her the truth.

            "Then you have to choose, Sebastian," she says, suddenly convinced of what she must do. He looks at her with fear, but knowing that he would do _anything_ to see Sofia again, the choice is already made.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to thank sebstantranslations again for helping me out. You're my new best friend. And thank you to anyone who read and enjoyed. I should also thank my weird ass dreams for gifting me this plot; you're some crazy bitches. Last chapter!

            At first, Donya didn’t think that Ştefan would go for it, but when she met with him in his office and explained to him in infallible Romanian that if he ever truly loved Sorin, he would not allow his son to spend another minute in prison, Ştefan looked at her as if she was the most magnificent thing he had ever seen. There was no need for much further explanation, and when she continued to speak to him in his language and ask him whether Sebastian had planned his ex-girlfriend's murder, Ştefan had stood up from his seat, walked around to the front of his desk, and clasped both her hands to look her in the eyes and tell her that whatever Sebastian told her regarding this matter was the truth.

            At that point, Donya asked no further about it. All she had really wanted to know was whether her husband was capable of evil. But everything Ştefan told her about Sebastian only confirmed that he _was_ as amazing as she had thought, and she'd found herself crying with a toothless grin as Ştefan's gaze became very far away while he told her about the moment when Sebastian introduced him to the space that would become his restaurant, Frații Stan. Suddenly, Ştefan wasn't so scary anymore in Donya's eyes.

            After everything that Sebastian had told her about him, she realized that she was wrong about Ştefan the entire time. Despite some of his less favorable traits, all the man ever wanted was this restaurant, and Sebastian had made that possible for him. Ştefan smiled and reached for the Kleenex behind him.

            "O față atât de frumoasă nu ar trebui pătată de lacrimi. (Such a beautiful face should not be stained by tears)," he said. Donya smiled weakly and wiped her eyes.

            "Accentul tău e aproape fără cusur. Cum de-ai învățat atât? (Your accent is almost flawless. How did you learn so much?)" Ştefan asked. Donya had frequently used formal greetings when Sebastian would take her and Sofia to the restaurant, as he had begun to do regularly almost every weekend. For a while, she had been able to say only a limited handful of things.

            " M-a invățat soțul meu. (My husband taught me)."

Donya found out that Alexandru had not been doing so well. Not long after Sebastian got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, he had totaled his car driving under the influence and began routinely selling very hard drugs. Needless to say, he got caught himself, and it was easy for Sebastian to get out of prison on technicalities, but Donya knew that it cost Sebastian a piece of his soul to see his cousin fall apart like that. He had told her that he thought it all started because of his wife. Apparently, Alex had been having problems long before he or Ştefan ever found out about the heroin.

            When Sebastian sighed behind her upon stepping over the threshold of her apartment, she closed her eyes for a moment, pulling her fall jacket off. She saw Sebastian's pale hands on her hips before she felt them there, felt his chin rest atop her head. She'd forgotten that he made her feel so tiny sometimes. His arms travelled around her and he pulled her into his chest. It had felt like forever to Sebastian since he got the chance to hold her this way. Prison was not a place he ever thought he'd be, but he was just glad not to be there anymore. While she drove him here, in her own car, Donya had not said a word. Several times at red lights, he wanted to say something to her, but didn't know what to say.

            He figured Donya was tired of hearing him say sorry, so he just let the anchorman on the radio talk the entire time. He didn't like feeling as if she was angry with him. It was one of the few things in life that really bothered Sebastian, the people he loved being angry with him, especially over things he did. He didn't like that Alex basically took his place, but he realized that his cousin was starting to go crazy in ways, and just maybe, being in prison would set him straight again.

            To Sebastian's relief, Donya did not pull away from him; she leaned back into him heavily. He was half waiting to hear Sofia crying when he recalled that the baby was still with Donya's mother in Boston. He just wanted to hold her. For a few nights, he had been afraid that he would never be able to hold his daughter again. He sighed and started kissing the top of Donya's head. She took a deep breath and held it for a handful of seconds, and he felt relieved to know her scent again. It was sweet, as always, and made him want to rub her thoroughly into his skin. He could never help himself when he touched her, and started kissing down the side of her face, and into her neck deeply.

            Donya let her head fall to the side and sighed. Part of her thought that she should have been angry with Sebastian, but she couldn't stay that way—not when he was near her like that. He felt like some kind of rock hard furnace behind her. She gripped a brawny arm in both hands, and felt his pulse through a thin long-sleeved shirt. She opened her mouth to say something, but couldn't think straight with his lips pressing so hard into her throat as she slowly turned around in his arms. And as if on cue, Sebastian pulled her up onto the small table where she had just dropped her keys.

            He went for her sweatpants first, easing her boots off simultaneously. She shivered at the chill of the cold hardwood under her suddenly bare thighs. Sebastian stepped out of his shoes and slipped between her knees to kiss her feverishly. To Donya, it felt like maybe he was afraid it was the last time he would get to do such a thing. His actions were speaking loudly, and she couldn't help but allow a small moan to escape her lips. She had lost so much sleep over this whole mess, and just wanted to take a nap, but she was awake again. Donya tugged at Sebastian's shirt and he paused to allow her to help him out of it.

            She pulled his belt through the loops of his jeans and he scooped her up off the table and carried her bridal style towards her room. He placed her gingerly in bed, with this look on his face that seemed he feared he might break her, before unbuttoning his jeans and pulling them down, stepping out of them and climbing in to rest at her side where he smothered her in kisses. Donya straddled him, and held his handsome face in her hands. She could tell that he, too, lost sleep. He looked so apologetic that she almost cried. Instead, she kissed him, and he held her just about too tightly for a handful of seconds before tossing bodily to bring her back beneath him. Donya grinned against Sebastian's lips. He rarely let her be on top, but she didn’t mind; he always made sure she got off.

            Sebastian unhooked her bra and kissed her breasts, which she had initially felt embarrassed about when she had Sofia, due to the occasional spraying; but as her milk dripped against Sebastian's puckered lips, he didn't mind it at all. He moaned against her flesh and suckled it, and when Donya looked down at his closed eyes, Sebastian looked to be in perfect bliss. Donya took him by surprise and rolled, landing him beneath her again. His laugh sent shivers through her body as she kissed the underside of his chin. He moaned, especially when she began to grind on him. He leaned back against the headboard, watching her with love in his eyes. He kissed her clavicle, and bit there gently.

            Donya stopped him and maneuvered to get her underwear off. He was getting hard beneath her. She tugged at his boxers. She got off him briefly so he could finish taking them off. He tried to be slick and pull her onto her back again, but she quickly straddled him again and took him inside. Sebastian groaned, throwing his head back and resuming his position against the headboard.

            "Okay, baby. Okay," he breathed with a reluctant smile. She dug her nails into Sebastian's shoulders and began to ride him gently. It was always tantalizing to Sebastian for a woman to be on top; she was always so gentle, so he grabbed Donya's hips and crammed her hard against him, causing her to moan loudly. He lifted his head off the wall and started to thrust up between her thighs hastily, at which point, she grabbed him, wrapping her arms around his neck. The position allowed him to suck on a breast again. Donya met Sebastian's thrusts, peeling back off him so that they could stare into each other's eyes.

            "Fuck," he breathed, grabbing a handful of Donya's hair and pulling her head back to bite about her neck. She squatted, the soles of her feet against the quilt, and fucked him as hard as she could. The angle made her tighter and she knew neither of them would last much longer. Their simultaneous orgasm came and lingered as Sebastian squeezed her hips near to pain. She felt him detonate inside her, and it was wonderful. Every nerve ending sparked and she would leave scratches on Sebastian's back. He just wanted to stay inside her forever as he rested his face in Donya's neck. And they sat there holding each other, tangled.

            Donya slept deeply that night because she knew that Sebastian was no longer involved in his cousin's troubles. It didn’t take long for the whole story to blow over. She had been worried about what the press would say about Sebastian, but that was the thing about celebrities; there was _always_ some new story to tell. And as Donya started to feel like she was getting back into the swing of things, just a few weeks after Sebastian was released from prison, she found out that she was pregnant for the second time.

 

            "What are we doing out here, Sebastian? It's _cold_!" Donya complains, after stepping out into the December air with Sebastian's bare hands covering her eyes. He had told her to close them while he drove, and they had been closed for almost ten whole minutes. He laughs behind her before planting a kiss on the shell of her ear which causes her to tilt her head away from the tickle.

            "You promised me curly fries," she adds impatiently.

            "And you're still gonna get them. I just wanted to show you something first," Sebastian promises, prompting her to walk closer. She nearly trips and he steadies her, telling her to stop.

            "Okay, you can look now," he breathes. Donya opens her eyes and squints in the sunlight. Just ahead of her is a bigass house.

            "Do you like it, baby?" Sebastian asks, his hands pushing through her unzipped coat to rub paternally over her womb where a barely noticeable bump is starting to come in.

            "…What?" she asks, falling back against Sebastian's chest and looking at him. He laughs.

            "We already have a place to live. And it's _plenty_ big enough for you, me, Sofia, and whoever is on their way," she says with a shy smile, her hands gravitating atop his. He kisses her from this odd angle.

            "I know, but I figured that in a year or two, when the lease on our place is up, we should really kinda be living in a _house_. Can't you just see it now, Sofia carrying her baby brother through those doors?" Sebastian asks, tightening his hold on her and kissing her cheeks repeatedly.

            "A friend of mine lives here now, but I told him we're expanding our family, and he wants to move to Miami in the near future. He said he'd give us first dibs."

Donya sighs, gazing at the magnificent house. It seemed to her that Sebastian was _always_ trying to give her things, and despite how much she assured him that his love was enough, she knew he would never be satisfied until she was sitting on a golden throne. It was just in his nature to be so giving. And as Donya thinks about it, she can't help thinking it might be nice to live in a place where she didn't have to take the stairs when she was too busy to wait for the elevator.

            "So?" Sebastian asks. She turns around to face him, nodding.

            "Wait till you see the inside," he says, lifting her so that she straddles his waist.

            "I promise, you're going to fucking _love_ it. There's a really nice patio and pool out back, too. And if there's anything you don't like, we can just renovate it," Sebastian promises. She pushes her hands repeatedly through his hair, mesmerized by the light emanating from his eyes. He turns around, still carrying her, walking to the car.

            "Now, let's go get that food so we can pick up our other baby from Margarita's and go home," Sebastian explains. He places Donya on the hood of his van, the one he bought shortly after Donya told him she was pregnant again. He'd said they were going to need it for when their kids started playing sports, something he felt convinced Sofia would get into as she grew older.

            "Are you okay, honey…?" Sebastian asks, "You're staring at me like you've never seen me before," he explains, unable to wipe the giant smile off his face. She kisses his forehead sweetly, the warmth of his skin a pleasant contrast to the cold air.

            "I'm fine. I just…I still can't believe it sometimes."

Sebastian cocks his head to the side.

            "Can't believe what?" he asks.

Sitting there with his arms pulled around her so securely, Donya feels the same way she did the moment when she realized she loved Sebastian, like it's happening all over again for the first time.

            "How much I love you. I'm just…I'm _so_ glad I gave you a chance," she admits, "You're the best thing that ever happened to me. I love you more than anything in the world, Sebastian." He looks at her a while, his eyes welling up halfway. Sebastian blushes a bright red before giving Donya the most satisfying kiss she's ever had.


End file.
